( 


HISTORY 


OF   THE 


FIRST  REGIMENT 


OF 


Tennessee  Volunteer  Cavalry 


IN   THE 


GREAT  WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION, 

WITH  THE  ARMIES  OF  THE   OHIO  AND   CUMBERLAND, 

UNDER  GENERALS  MORGAN,  ROSECRANS, 

THOMAS,  STANLEY  AND  WILSON. 

1862-1865. 


BY 

\V    R.   CHARTER, 

COMPANY  C. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


KNOXVILLE,  TENN.: 
GAUT-OGDEN  CO.,  PRINTERS  AND  BINDERS. 

.  1902. 


S3  / 


I  sT 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1896,  by 

W.  R.  CARTER, 
in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


TO  THE   SURVIVING 
MEMBERS   OF  THE   FIRST 

TENNESSEE  CAVALRY;  TO  THE  MEMORY 
OF  OUR  DECEASED  COMRADES  AND  THEIR 
KINDRED;    TO  THE  MARTYRED  PATRIOTS  OF 
EAST  TENNESSEE  WHO  DIED  ON  THE  GALLOWS  AND  IN 
PRISON,  AND  TO  THE  LOYAL  AND  PATRIOTIC  PEO 
PLE  WHO  SYMPATHIZED  WITH  THEM,  THIS 
VOLUME  IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED, 
IN  FRATERNITY,  CHARITY 
AND  LOYALTY,  BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


M199841 


PREFACE. 


As  the  years  go  by  and  age  creeps  upon  the  soldier,  he 
delights  in  telling  those  about  him  how  he  fought  and  suf 
fered  for  his  country  when  it  was  in  danger.  One  of  the 
reasons  for  writing  a  history  of  the  First  Tennessee  Cavalry 
is  to  hand  down  to  posterity  the  many  gallant  and  heroic 
deeds  performed  by  it.  I  was  urged  by  my  comrades  to 
undertake  the  work,  realizing,  however,  that  it  would  require 
time,  patience  and  plenty  of  hard  work  before  the  completion 
of  the  history.  The  Adjutant-General's  Report  of  the  State 
and  War  Diaries  had  to  be  consulted  and  the  matter  put  in 
shape  for  publication.  But,  after  a  year  of  hard,  faithful 
work,  the  author  is  able  to  furnish  a  history  of  the  regiment, 
in  which  are  recorded  the  many  valiant  deeds  performed  by 
it  in  the  sixties. 

The  author  has  endeavored  to  give  a  fair  and  impartial 
account  of  all  the  doings  of  the  regiment  from  1862  to  1865. 
He  does  not  claim  that  his  regiment  put  down  the  rebellion, 
or  did  all  the  fighting  and  none  of  the  running.  But  one 
thing  the  author  dwells  upon,  and  that  is,  the  regiment  per 
formed  its  duty  well,  and  no  order  was  ever  given  to  it  that 
was  not  promptly  executed.  Its  battles  and  large  death-roll 
are  evidence  of  faithful  service. 

The  author  has  not  attempted  to  go  beyond  the  services 
of  his  own  regiment  in  the  preparation  of  this  work,  only 
so  far  as  the  movements  of  other  troops  with  whom  it  served 
mention  is  made  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  to  the 
reader  an  intelligent  idea  of  the  arduous  duty  performed  by 
the  regiment. 


6  PREFACE. 

I  do  not  claim  that  the  work  is  entirely  free  from  errors, 
as  that  would  be  impossible,  it  being  over  thirty-seven  years 
since  the  last  hostile  gun  was  fired,  and  during  that  time 
much  valuable  information  has  been  lost.  But  errors  are 
found  in  all  histories. 

The  roster  is  in  the  main  correct,  as  the  author  at  the 
very  beginning  decided  that  every  name  that  appeared  upon 
the  rolls  of  the  regiment  should  be  given  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  postoffice  address.  The  chief  object  has  been 
to  tell  what  the  First  Tennessee  Cavalry  did,  and  how  they 
did  it.  The  facts  contained  in  this  volume  will  no  doubt  shed 
some  new  light  on  and  answer  as  a  reminder  of  the  very 
honorable  part  the  regiment  took  in  that  great  struggle. 

The  author  acknowledges  and  tenders  his  thanks  to 
those  who  so  cheerfully  and  kindly  assisted  him  in  the  prep 
aration  of  this  work. 

This  is  a  history  of  what  one  regiment  did,  and  not  of 
the  army,  and  is  a  plain  recital  of  facts  that  happened  back 
in  the  sixties.  Neither  does  the  author  attempt  to  describe 
the  movements  of  the  army.  That  has  already  been  done 
by  other  historians. 

To  some  it  may  appear  that  the  author  has  been  too 
modest,  that  he  has  not  "bio wed  his  own  horn"  enough ;  but 
he  will  let  others  judge.  The  author  has  not  attempted  to 
rob  other  regiments  of  their  glory  or  honor  won  upon  the 
battlefield. 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Knoxville,  Tennessee,  July  25,  1902. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EAST  TENNESSEE  UNIONIST — ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  REGIMENT — 
THE  FIRST  CAMP — DRILLS  AND  PARADES — ORDERED  TO  THE 
FRONT— NIGHT  MARCHES— FIRST  ALARM— ORGANIZATION  OF 
THE  SEVENTH  DIVISION 1 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

CUMBERLAND  GAP  —  MORGAN'S  CAMPAIGN  —  THE  STRONGHOLD 
FALLS — OPERATIONS  AROUND  THE  GAP — HARD  SERVICE  AND 
SHORT  RATIONS  29 

CHAPTER  III. 

MORGAN'S  FAMOUS  RETREAT — FATIGUING  MARCH — HARRASSED  BY 
THE  ENEMY — MARCHING  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES — CAMP  LIFE 
ON  THE  OHIO — CAMP  DENNISON  IN  1862 46 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  FOURTH  TENNESSEE  MOUNTED— MUSKETS  TO  CARBINES— IN 
CIDENTS  AT  CAM?  DENNISON — ORDERED  TO  MURFREESRORO — 
FIRST  SABER  CHARGE — HALF  IN  HOSPITALS — COLONEL  JOHN 
SON  RESIGNS — RE-OGANIZATION  OF  THE  CAVALRY — BROWN- 
LOW  WEARS  THE  EAGLE 59 

CHAPTER  V. 

TULLAHOMA  CAMPAIGN  —  THE  ADVANCE  —  GUY'S  GAP  —  TEN 
THOUSAND  CAVALRY  ON  A  WILD  CHARGE — WHEELER  FORCED 
TO  SWIM  DUCK  RIVER — BRAGG  LEAVES  TENNESSEE — HIS 
TORIC  CAMP — MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  CAVALRY — CONCENTRATION 
AT  STEVENSON — PREPARING  FOR  AN  ADVANCE 74 

CHAPTER  VI. 

ADVANCE  OF  THE  ARMY — CLIMBING  MOUNTAINS — SCENERY  ABOVE 
THE  CLOUDS — DARING  MOVE  OF  THE  FIRST  TENNESSEE — LOST 
IN  A  MOUNTAIN — BLOODY  CHICKAMAUGA — Two  DAYS  ON 
THE  FIELD — CRAWFISH  SPRING — ON  THE  MOVE — WATCHING 
WHEELER 85 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

WHEELER'S  GREAT  RAID — LARGE  WAGON  TRAIN  BURNED — THE 
PURSUIT  —  WINCHESTER  —  ORDERED  TO  EAST  TENNESSEE- 
FIGHTING  BUSHWHACKERS  —  LIEUT.  BOWMAN  ATTACKED 
NEAR  SPARTA — His  SOLDIERS  KILLED  AFTER  SURRENDERING — 
TAKE  NO  PRISONERS — BROWNLOW  QUIETS  THE  "GUERILLAS"  100 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

EAST  TENNESSEE  CAMPAIGN — CLIMBING  THE  CUMBERLAND — THE 
FIRST  TENNESSEE  AT  HOME — A  LIVELY  SET-TO  AT  DANDRDIGE. 
A  BRILLIANT  CHARGE — THE  SABER  FREELY  USED — CHRIST 
MAS  EVE  IN  CAMP 112 

CHAPTER  IX. 

How  CHRISTMAS  WAS  SPENT — BATTLE  OF  MOSSY  CREEK — DEATH 
OF  CAPTAIN  CANNON  AND  LIEUTENANT  Cox — A  GALLANT 
CHARGE — INDIAN  FIGHTING  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS — CAPTURING 
A  WAGON  TRAIN 126 

CHAPTER  X. 

BATTLE  OF  FAIR  GARDEN — CAPTURE  OF  COLONEL  BROWNLOW — HE 
BRIBES  THE  GUARD  AND  MAKES  His  ESCAPE — BACK  TO  THE 
ARMY  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND — CAMP  LIFE  AT  CLEVELAND — 
WHEELER  ATTEMPTS  TO  CAPTURE  THE  REGIMENT 138 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  ATLANTA  CAMPAIGN — FROM  CLEVELAND  TO  PINE  MOUNTAIN. 
— DUG  GAP  AND  TILTON — ACROSS  THE  COOSAWATTEE  AND 
ETOWAH — SOLDIERING  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES — BURNT  HICK 
ORY — BROWNLOW'S  HILL  150 

CHAPTER  XII. 

ATLANTA    CAMPAIGN    CONTINUED — OPERATIONS    AROUND    PINE 
MOUNTAIN — ADVANCE  ON  THE  KENNESAW  LINE — ASSAULT 
AND  FLANK  MOVEMENT — DARING  FEAT  OF  THE  FIRST  TEN-  - 
ESSEE  AT  THE  CHATTAHOOCHEE — BROWNLOW'S  NAKED  CHARGE  164 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

RAID  BELOW  ATLANTA— GREAT  DESTRUCTION  OF  PROPERTY— DEATH 
OF  LIEUT.  ROBERTS — BROWNLOW  REFUSES  TO  SURRENDER — 
CUTS  THE  LINES — A  RACE  FOR  LIFE — SWIMMING  THE  CHAT 
TAHOOCHEE — HARDSHIPS  OF  THE  MEN 176 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

ORDERED  TO  NASHVILLE — WHEELER'S  RAID — SHARP  FIGHTING — 
COLONEL  BROWNLOW  WOUNDED — WHEELER  DRIVEN  ACROSS 
THE  TENNESSEE— FORREST  RETURNS  BUT  MEETS  THE  SAME 
FATE — THE  DARING  RAIDER  FORCED  TO  c  FIGHT — FIGHTING 
BUSHWHACKERS — LIFE  ALONG  THE  TENNESSEE 188 

CHAPTER  XV. 

HOOD  CROSSES  THE  TENNESSEE — RACE  WITH  SCHOFIELD — HATCH 
FLOGS  FORREST  AT  CAMPBELLSVILLE — WILSON  AT  DUCK 
RTVER — NIGHT  MARCH  TO  FRANKLIN — PREPARATION  FOR 
BATTLE  201 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

BATTLE  OF  FRANKLIN — HOOD  ASSAULTS  THE  UNION  LINES — RE 
PULSED  WITH  GREAT  SLAUGHTER — His  Loss  IN  OFFICERS  UN- 
EQUALED  IN  THE  WAR  —  DESPERATE  FIGHTING  —  GENERAL 
STANLEY  WOUNDED — SCHOFIELD  WITHDRAWS  IN  THE  NIGHT. 
SAFE  IN  NASHVILLE  213 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

BATTLE  OF  NASHVILLE — A  GREAT  UNION  VICTORY — THE  GREAT 
CAVALRY  BATTLE  OF  THE  \VEST— WILSON'S  CAVALRY  CAP 
TURING  FORTS — HOOD'S  ARMY  WRECKED — THE  DEFEAT  AND 
ROUT — CAPTURING  PRISONERS  AND  GUNS — THE  PURSUIT....  225 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

'THE  PURSUIT  CONTINUED — ENGAGEMENT  AT  LYNNVILLE — CHRIST 
MAS  EVE — PURSUIT  ENDED — ORDERED  TO  WATERLOO — WINTER 
QUARTERS — THE  MOVE  INTO  MISSISSIPPI — RETURN  TO  THE 
OLD  CAMP  239 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

RELIEVED  AT  THE  FRONT — ORDERED  TO  NASHVILLE — THE  SURREN 
DER  OF  LEE — GREAT  REJOICING  IN  CAMP — THE  WAR  ENDED. 
— PREPARING  FOR  MUSTER-OUT — RELIEVED  OF  DUTY 253 

CHAPTER  XX. 

CLOSING  SCENES— UNDER  THE  TATTERED  FLAG— MUSTERED  OUT. 
FAREWELL  GREETING — RETURN  HOME — RECEPTION  BY  THE 
LOYAL  PEOPLE  264 

ROSTER.  RECORD  AND  POSTOFFICE  ADDRESS 269 

ROLL  OF  HONOR  332 

RECAPITULATION   333 


HISTORY  OF  FIRST   REGIMENT 

TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER 

CAVALRY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EAST  TENNESSEE  UNIONIST — ORGANIZATION   or"  THE  REGI 
MENT — FIRST   CAMP — DRILLS   AND    PARADE — ORDERED   TO 

THE    FRONT — FIRST    ALARM — ORGANIZATION    OF    THE 
SEVENTH  DIVISION — NIGHT  MARCHES. 

When  the  reverberations  of  Sumters  guns  came  sweep 
ing  across  the  valleys  and  the  mountains  the  loyal  people 
from  all  parts  of  the  Union  thronged  to  the  field  to  assist 
in  protecting  the  inheritance  bequeathed  to  them  by  their 
forefathers. 

They  were  so  patriotic  and  eager  to  enlist  that  for  the 
time  being  they  even  forgot  the  luxuries,  pleasures,  and  com 
forts  of  their  homes.  In  no  part  of  the  country  did  this  das 
tardly  act  arouse  a  greater  feeling  of  patriotism  than  was 
manifested  in  East  Tennessee.  It  brought  thinking  people 
to  a  full  realization  of  a  stern  duty  that  awaited  every  true 
patriot.  The  whole  country  was  wild  with  excitement,  as  a 
terrible  war  seemed  inevitable. 

When  the  President  called  for  men  to  put  on  the  har 
ness  of  war  he  designated  no  particular  class  of  people.  Men 
came  from  the  farm,  shop,  store,  office,  yes  and  even  the  pro 
fessional  man  was  seen  to  enter  the  ranks.  All  classes  were 
represented  in  the  great  and  growing  army  that  soon  rivaled 
that  of  Napoleon  I. 


12  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

History  affords  no  parallel  to  the  universal  and  hearty 
response  made  by  the  loyal  men  of  the  nation  to  the  support 
of  the  government  in  the  great  Civil  War  between  the  North 
and  South.  The  bombardment  and  fall  of  Fort  Sumter 
threw  the  whole  country  into  great  excitement.  Immediately 
after  this  noted  event  President  Lincoln  called  for  seventy- 
five  thousand  volunteers  for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion. 
Tennessee's  quota  was  two  regiments,  and  at  that  time  if  the 
loyal  and  patriotic  people  of  East  Tennessee  had  been  given 
an  opportunity  to  respond  to  this  call,  ten  regiments  could 
have  been  furnished  from  this  division  of  the  State. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  section  were  mostly  Whigs  and 
the  descendants  of  frontiersmen  and  Indian  fighters.  They 
were  full  of  patriotism  and  had  been  taught  from  childhood 
to  resent  an  insult,  and  especially  one  to  the  flag  of  their 
country,  the  emblem  of  liberty.  They  were  trained  also  to 
the  use  of  the  rifle,  consequently  were  excellent  marksmen. 
They  were  the  direct  descendants  of  the  brave  men  who 
fought  at  and  destroyed  Fnrgeson's  army  at  King's  Moun 
tain,  and  Packenham  at  New  Orleans.  It  was  therefore  not 
unnatural  that  they  should  be  aroused  by  this  great  insult  to 
their  country's  flag  and  the  great  shock  that  this  event  pro 
duced,  wrhen  the  news  was  flashed  across  the  country  that 
Fort  Sumter  had  been  fired  upon. 

In  no  part  of  the  country  had  the  people  been  more  loyal 
than  here  in  East  Tennessee.  In  every  war  since  Tennessee 
became  a  State  we  find  her  sons  ready  and  willing  to  go  forth 
and  die  if  need  be  for  the  old  flag.  We  make  the  modest 
claim  that  in  no  part  of  the  country  was  there  manifested 
greater  indignation  at  this  treasonable  act,  and  a  greater 
determination  to  resent  the  insult  to  the  nation,  than  here  in 
East  Tennessee. 

They  sprang  to  the  "call  to  arms"  like  their  forefathers 
and  poured  out  their  blood  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 
No  one  can  forget  the  great  excitement  this  event  produced 
and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  loyal  people  of  the  United  States 
to  stand  by  the  government  in  the  dark  days  of  1861. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  13 

The  same  patriotic  spirit  that  had  always  characterized 
Tennessee  in  former  wars  in  coming  to  the  defense  of  the 
old  flag  now  manifested  itself  again.  In  the  war  with  Mex 
ico  it  is  said  that  the  spirit  for  volunteering  was  such  that  it 
became  a  question  not  as  to  who  must  go,  but  who  may  go. 

The  following  telegram  was  sent  by  the  Secretary  of 
War  to  the  Governor  of  Tennessee : 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  Washington,  April  15,  1861. 
To  His  Excellency,  Isham  G.  Harris,  Governor  of  Tennessee : 

Call  made  on  you  by  to-night's  mail  for  two  regiments  of  militia 
for  immediate  service.  SIMON  CAMERON, 

Secretary  of  War. 

Governor  Harris  was  absent  when  the  call  came,  but  on 
his  return  sent  the  following  answer : 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  April  17,  1861. 
Hon.  Simon  Cameron,  Secretary  of  War,  Washington,  D.  C. : 

Sir:  Your  dispatch  of  the  isth  inst,  informing  me  that  Ten 
nessee  is  called  upon  for  two  regiments  of  militia  for  immediate  ser 
vice,  is  received.  Tennessee  will  not  furnish  a  single  man  for  the 
purpose  of  coercion,  but  50,000  if  necessary  for  the  defense  of  our 
rights  and  those  of  our  Southern  brothers. 

ISHAM  G.  HARRIS, 
Governor  of  Tennessee. 

Tennessee  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  States  of  the 
Union,  and  the  Secretary  of  War  had  a  right  to  call  upon 
Tennessee  for  troops.  Tennessee  had  always  been  very 
patriotic,  and  the  readiness  with  which  it  had  always  re 
sponded  to  the  calls  and  came  to  the  defense  of  the  country, 
when  threatened  either  by  a  foreign  or  a  savage  foe,  had  won 
for  it  the  name  of  "The  Volunteer  State." 

It  was  one  of  Tennessee's  grand  and  patriotic  citizens, 
as  well  as  soldier,  who  exclaimed,  "The  Union !  It  must  and 
shall  be  preserved!"  This  was  the  iron  man  who  led  his 
Tennessee  riflemen  to  victory  at  New  Orleans,  defeating  the 
flower  of  the  English  army. 

The  Eastern  division  of  the  State  was  strongly  Whig, 
and  when  war  threatened  the  destruction  and  dismember 
ment  of  the  Union  this  element  took  a  strong  and  decided 


14  HISTORY  01?  FIRST  REGIMENT 

stand  against  secession.  This  division  of  the  State  was  also 
full  of  brave  and  patriotic  leaders,  and  no  people  were  more 
true  and  devoted  to  them  than  the  Union  men  of  East  Ten 
nessee.  Among  them  we  find  such  patriots  as  Rev.  W.  G. 
Brownlow,  O.  P.  Temple,  Horace  Maynard,  Andrew  John 
son,  John  M.  Fleming,  Samuel  Pickens,  T.  A.  R.  Nelson, 
Rev.  W.  B.  Carter,  and  a  host  of  others  who  risked  their 
lives  and  their  property  that  the  honor  and  reputation  of 
"The  Volunteer  State"  might  not  go  down  in  shame  and  dis 
honor  at  this  perilous  moment. 

The  following  is  a  portion  of  a  long  series  of  resolu 
tions  passed  by  one  of  the  many  conventions  held  by  the 
Unionists  of  East  Tennessee : 

"That  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  without  having  first  obtained 
the  consent  of  the  people,  had  no  authority  to  enter  into  a  'military 
league'  with  the  Confederate  States  against  the  general  government, 
and  by  so  doing  to  put  the  State  of  Tennessee  in  hostile  array  against 
the  government  of  which  it  was,  and  still  is,  a  member.  Such  legis 
lation  in  advance  of  the  expressed  will  of  the  people  to  change  their 
governmental  relation  was  an  act  of  usurpation  and  should  be  visited 
with  the  severest  condemnation  of  the  people.  Resolved,  further : 
That  the  action  of  our  State  Legislature  in  passing  the  so-called 
'Declaration  of  Independence,'  and  in  forming  the  military  league 
with -the  Confederate  States,  and  in  adopting  other  acts  looking  to  a 
separation  of  the  State  of  Tennessee  from  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  is  unconstitutional  and  illegal,  and  therefore  not  bind 
ing  upon  us  as  loyal  citizens."  *  *  * 

In  the  meantime,  Isham  G.  Harris  and  other  leaders 
tried  to  sell  Tennessee  "lock,  stock  and  barrel"  to  Jeff  Davis 
&  Co.  They  attempted  to  make  the  Union  people  believe 
that  the  State  had  seceded  because  a  partisan  Legislature 
liad  secretly  passed  ordinances  of  secession.  The  loyal  peo 
ple  of  East  Tennessee  remained  true  to  the  Union,  and  Gov 
ernor  Harris,  finding  that  he  was  unable  to  subdue  these 
liberty-loving  people,  sent  armed  troops  into  East  Tennessee, 
with  orders  to  disarm  the  Union  people.  In  the  enforcement 
of  this  tyrannical  order  no  Union  man  was  allowed  to  escape 
search,  and  if  arms  were  found  in  his  possession  they  were 
taken. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  15 

As  the  clouds  of  war  grew  darker,  and  the  thunder  from 
the  battlefields  pealed  louder,  these  East  Tennessee  Unionists 
became  more  bitter  and  defiant.  Twiggs  had  traitorously 
turned  over  all  government  property  placed  in  his  charge  to 
the  so-called  Confederate  government,  consisting  of  arms, 
stores  and  ammunition.  The  loyal  people  of  East  Tennessee 
did  not  approve  of  such  a  course  and  determined  never  to 
submit  to  this  attempt  to  take  away  their  liberty,  destroy  the 
government  and  fasten  the  yoke  of  slavery  upon  them. 

There  were  numerous  conflicts  between  the  loyal  sons 
of  East  Tennessee  and  the  armed  Confederates  in  the  execu 
tion  of  the  order,  and  often  a  hearty  reception  would  be  given 
them  and  a  variety  of  keepsakes  and  reminders  in  the  nature 
of  wounds,  bullets  and  buckshot. 

Armed  bands  of  the  enemy  roamed  over  the  country, 
pilfering,  robbing  and  murdering  peaceful  citizens.  Martial 
law  was  declared  in  East  Tennessee;  provost-marshals  and 
enrolling  officers  were  appointed  in  every  town  and  county, 
and  these  were  composed  usually  of  the  bitterest  and  most 
oppressive  men  in  the  Confederacy. 

Colonel  W.  B.  Wood,  Sixteenth  Alabama,  commanding 
the  post  at  Knoxville  in  the  fall  of  1861,  wrote  to  Adjutant- 
General  Cooper  at  Richmond  as  follows :  "Five  hundred 
Union  men  are  now  threatening  Strawberry  Plains,  fifteen 
hundred  are  assembling  in  Hamilton  county,  and  there  is  a 
general  uprising  in  all  the  counties.  The  whole  country  is 
now  in  a  state  of  rebellion  and  the  mountaineers  will  whip 
Zollicoffer  as  soon  as  they  get  ammunition." 

Then  came  the  destruction  of  the  bridges  along  the  East 
Tennessee  &  Virginia  railroad,  one  of  the  main  lines  con 
necting  Richmond  and  the  Gulf  States.  This  was  followed 
by  the  execution  of  Henry  Fry  and  J.  M.  Hensie  at  Greene- 
ville,  C.  A.  Hawn,  Jacob  Harmon  and  his  son  Henry  at 
Knoxville.  The  charge  against  these  men  was  bridge-burn 
ing,  yet  there  was  no  positive  proof  that  any  of  them  had 
burned  or  attempted  to  burn  a  bridge.  Hundreds  of  promi 
nent  citizens  were  arrested  on  some  "trumped-up  charge" 


16  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

and  sent  south  to  Tuskaloosa,  Ala.,  a  prison  well  known  to 
the  loyal  people  of  East  Tennessee,  where,  by  cruel  and  in 
human  treatment,  scores  died. 

Among  those  sent  from  East  Tennessee  were  Hon. 
Montgomery  Thornburgh,  attorney-general  of  his  judicial 
circuit;  Hon.  Samuel  Pickens,  state  senator,  and  Hon.  Levi 
Trewhitt,  a  very  old  man  and  a  well-known  lawyer.  To  add 
further  insult  to  these  loyal  and  patriotic  citizens  they  were 
sent  south  in  filthy  stock-cars.  Among  those  who  died  in 
this  prison  was  Attorney-General  Thornburgh.  Dr.  William 
Hunt  and  Hon.  Levi  Trewhitt  died  from  cruel  treatment. 

The  jail  at  Knoxville  was  full  to  overflowing  with  Union 
men.  Ministers  who  dared  to  pray  for  the  success  of  the 
Union  army,  or  for  the  preservation  of  the  government,  were 
arrested  and  thrown  into  prison. 

The  loyalty  of  these  mountain  people  to  the  old  flag  was 
a  menace  to  the  Confederates  and  the  cause  of  much  bitter 
ness.  Every  able-bodied  man  under  the  age  of  forty-five 
was  required  to  go  into  the  rebel  army,  and  the  Union  men 
who  had  remained  at  home  up  to  this  time  began  to  drop 
out  of  sight.  Pilots  or  guides,  as  they  were  called,  were  in 
great  demand  to  take  these  loyal  men  beyond  the  lines.  The 
secret  means  of  escape  to  the  Union  lines  was  termed  "The 
Underground  Railroad,"  and  the  secret  method  of  communi 
cation,  "The  Grape-vine  Telegraph." 

In  the  meantime  the  East  Tennessee  &  Virginia  railroad 
was  kept  busy  transporting  troops  from  the  South  to  Vir 
ginia.  This  was  witnessed  by  the  loyal  people  with  a  strong 
feeling  of  dissatisfaction,  and  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to  it  they 
planned  the  destruction  of  the  bridges.  In  the  attempt  to 
destroy  the  bridge  at  Strawberry  Plains  there  was  a  consid 
erable  fight  between  the  guard  and  the  Union  men,  in  which 
both  sides  had  men  wounded. 

These  outbreaks  created  great  excitement  and  alarm, 
and  were  committed,  not  in  the  spirit  of  wanton  destruction, 
but  of  real  war  upon  an  enemy  and  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
interrupting  the  military  communications  of  the  Gulf  States 


COLONEL,    ROBKRT   .JOHNSON 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  17 

with  Richmond  and  of  enabling  the  Union  army  to  enter 
East  Tennessee. 

Martial  law  was  declared  in  Knoxville  and  Union  peo 
ple's  houses  were  arbitrarily  entered  night  and  day  by  the 
soldiers,  who  demanded  their  arms  and  ammunition.  This 
attempt  to  disarm  the  people  was  denounced,  as  they  doubted 
the  right  to  take  away  their  arms,  as  they  Were  looked  upon 
as  a  household  necessity. 

Shortly  after  the  election  on  the  8th  of  June  a  mass- 
meeting  of  the  Union  people  was  called  to  meet  at  Straw 
berry  Plains,  seventeen  miles  northeast  of  Knoxville,  to  con 
demn  the  action  of  Governor  Harris  in  declaring  the  State 
out  of  the  Union,  contrary  to  the  voice  of  its  qualified  voters. 
The  meeting  was  largely  attended  and  was  held  in  a  grove  a 
short  distance  east  of  the  village,  near  the  railroad.  During 
the  progress  of  the  meeting  a  regiment  of  "Louisiana  Tigers" 
passed  by  on  the  cars.  They  had  been  notified  of  the  meet 
ing  before  leaving  the  station,  and  under  a  full  head  of  steam 
and  with  loaded  muskets  on  they  came.  When  opposite  the 
place  where  these  patriots  were  quietly  discussing  the  action 
of  Governor  Harris  they  opened  fire.  This  fire  was  promptly 
met  with  volleys  from  all  kinds  of  firearms  and  a  rush  for 
the  train.  Several  men  who  were  near  the  track  attempted 
to  wreck  the  train  by  placing  cross-ties  on  the  rails.  There 
were  no  casualties  on  the  Union  side,  and  as  the  train  kept 
moving  there  was  no  means  of  knowing  whether  any  of  the 
"Tigers"  were  hurt  or  not,  but  the  sides  of  the  cars  were  per 
forated  with  bullets. 

The  nearest  point  to  the  Union  camps  was  in  the  State 
of  Kentucky,  and  to  reach  them  the  mountains  and  a  hostile 
enemy  must  be  passed.  The  vigilant  foe  kept  every  gap  well 
guarded,  and  capture  meant  death  or  long  confinement  in 
some  loathsome  prison.  Those  who  are  familiar  with  the 
topography  of  the  country  between  Tennessee  and  Kentucky 
will  remember  that  Cumberland  Mountain  is  well  flanked 
with  hills  and  ridges,  all  of  which  must  be  crossed  in  passing 
from  one  State  to  the  other.  But  with  all  their  watchfulness 


18  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

and  the  dangers  incident  to  such  an  undertaking,  thousands 
left  their  homes,  made  their  way  safely  across  the  cold  and 
cheerless  mountains,  reached  the  Union  camps  and  enlisted 
in  the  army,  shedding  their  blood  in  defense  of  the  old  flag. 

The  most  of  these  long  and  dangerous  marches  were 
made  by  night,  to  better  escape  the  watchful  eye  of  the 
enemy.  These  midnight  tramps  were  made  in  companies  of 
fifty  to  one  hundred,  and  even  larger  numbers  were  safely 
taken  through  the  lines.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for 
pitched  battles  to  occur  between  these  East  Tennessee  Union 
ists  and  the  Confederates.  The  majority  of  these  expedi 
tions  were  successful,  but  a  few  were  disastrous.  The  Union 
people  of  East  Tennessee  believed  that  when  their  liberty 
was  taken  from  them  there  was  nothing  left  worth  living  for, 
and,  in  the  language  of  Patrick  Henry,  it  was  ''Give  me  lib 
erty  or  give  me  death." 

The  greatest  secrecy  was  required  in  making  these  trips, 
and  all  loud  and  boisterous  talking  had  to  be  repressed. 
But  when  the  point  was  reached  wThere  it  was  safe  to  give 
expression  to  pent-up  feelings  the  men  would  break  forth 
in  loud  huzzas,  singing  as  they  marched  along,  "We  are  com 
ing,  Father  Abraham,  three  hundred  thousand  more."  It 
is  rather  a  remarkable  fact  that  East  Tennessee  in  1861,  with 
a  male  population  of  forty-five  thousand  between  the  ages 
of  twenty  and  fifty,  should  furnish  for  the  Union  army 
thirty-five  thousand  volunteers — not  a  conscript  among 
them — besides  hundreds  that  enlisted  in  Kentucky,  Ohio, 
Indiana  and  Illinois  regiments,  for  which  Tennessee  received 
no  credit. 

Tennessee  was  the  last  State  to  "seceed,"  or  more  truth 
fully  speaking,  "forced  out  of  the  Union,"  and  this  act  was 
not  a  voluntary  one,  but  was  accomplished  by  force  of  arms. 
This  shameful  act  occurred  on  the  8th  day  of  June,  1861, 
almost  two  months  after  Fort  Sumter  had  been  fired  upon. 
Rev.  N.  G.  Taylor,  a  Bell  elector  on  the  Presidential  ticket 
in  1860,  made  use  of  the  following  strong  language  in  a 
speech  delivered  in  Knoxville :  "The  people  of  East  Tennes- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  19 

see  are  determined  to  maintain  the  Union  by  force  of  arms 
against  any  movement  from  the  South  throughout  their  re 
gion  of  country  to  assail  the  government  at  Washington  with 
violence,  and  that  the  Secessionists  of  the  cotton  States,  in 
attempting  to  carry  out  their  nefarious  designs  to  destroy  the 
Republic,  would  have  to  march  over  my  dead  body  and  the 
dead  bodies  of  thousands  of  East  Tennessee  mountaineers 
slain  in  battle." 

In  August,  1 86 1,  Colonel  R.  K.  Bird,  of  Roane  county, 
organized  the  First  Regiment  of  Tennessee  Volunteers  at 
Camp  Dick  Robinson,  Kentucky.  The  following  Septem 
ber  the  Second  Regiment  Tennessee  Volunteers  was  organ 
ized  at  the  same  camp  by  Colonel  J.  P.  T.  Carter,  of  Carter 
county.  In  February,  1862,  Colonel  L.  C.  Houk,  of  Ander 
son  county,  organized  the  Third  Tennessee  Volunteers  at 
Flat  Lick,  Kentucky.  In  March,  Colonel  Robert  Johnson, 
of  Greeneville,  organized  the  Fourth  Regiment  Tennessee 
Volunteers  at  Camp  Garber,  Kentucky.  The  following 
November  the  regiment  was  mounted  and  equipped  for  the 
cavalry  service  and  was  mustered  as  the  First  Tennessee 
Cavalry.  Camp  Garber  is  about  one  mile  northwest  of  Flat 
Lick,  on  the  main  road  leading  from  Barboursville  to  Cum 
berland  Gap. 

The  men  composing  the  regiment  were  principally  from 
the  counties  of  Bradley,  Knox,  Union,  Grainger,  Jefferson, 
Greene,  Hawkins  and  Hancock.  Colonel  Johnson's  paternal 
notoriety  made  him  quite  popular  and  influential.  His 
father,  Andrew  Johnson,  when  the  war  broke  out,  bore  the 
proud  distinction  of  being  the  only  Southern  Senator  who 
retained  his  seat  in  the  Senate  after  his  State  had  seceded. 
Colonel  Johnson  was  authorized  by  E.  M.  Stanton,  Secre 
tary  of  War,  to  recruit  a  cavalry  regiment,  but  from  some 
cause  the  government  did  not  arm  and  equip  it  for  that 
branch  of  the  service  at  the  time  of  its  organization. 

Being  the  fourth  regiment  organized  from  the  State, 
"Number  4"  was  assigned  to  it  and  entered  of  record,  and 
up  to  November  was  known  as  the  Fourth  Tennessee  Volun- 


20  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

teers.  Recruits  came  in  rapidly,  it  then  being  understood 
that  the  regiment  would  soon  be  mounted,  and  with  the 
Tennessee  boys  the  idea  of  "riding  instead  of  walking"  wras 
quite  a  popular  one.  The  first  company  organized  for  the 
regiment  was  Company  A,  yet  the  first  seven  companies  were 
organized  during  March  and  April.  The  following  is  the 
original  list  of  company  officers  and  the  order  in  which  they 

were  recruited : 

COMPANY  A. 

Captain,  Charles  L.  Barton;  First  Lieutenant,  John  H.  Trent; 
Second  Lieutenant,  Moses  Wiley. 

COMPANY  B. 

Captain,  Richard  M.  Baldwin;  First  Lieutenant,  Gideon  Wolf: 
Second  Lieutenant,  George  Odom. 

COMPANY  C. 

Captain,  James  P.  Brownlow;  First  Lieutenant,  Morgan  T. 
Burkhart ;  Second  Lieutenant,  Elbert  J.  Cannon. 

COMPANY  D. 

Captain,  Alfred  J.  Lane ;  First  Lieutenant,  W.  R.  Willoughby ; 
Second  Lieutenant,  George  W.  Cox. 

COMPANY  E. 

Captain,  Henry  G.  Flagg;  First  Lieutenant,  Charles  H.  Burdick; 
Second  Lieutenant,  William  Thurman. 

COMPANY  F. 

Captain,  Thomas  J.  Capps ;  First  Lieutenant,  Robert  A.  Wooten ; 
Second  Lieutenant,  John  A.  Gray. 

COMPANY  H. 

Captain,  John  A.  Gray  (promoted  from  second  lieutenant  Com 
pany  F  to  captain  Company  H)  ;  First  Lieutenant,  Calvin  M.  Dyer; 
Second  Lieutenant,  Edward  Simpson. 

The  above  companies  were  organized  at  Camp  Garber 
and  all  sworn  into  the  United  States  service  for  three  years 
or  during  the  wyar.  The  Fourth  Tennessee  was  not  mus 
tered  at  its  organization  owing  to  the  fact  that  no  mustering 
officer  was  present  to  perform  that  duty.  By  this  simple 
process  these  patriotic  citizens  who  had  made  their  way 
through  the  lines  were  converted  into  United  States  soldiers, 
and  were  now  subject  to  orders  and  discipline  from  all 


COLONEL   .JAMES    P.   BROWNLOW 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  21 

superior  officers.  Colonel  Johnson  appointed  the  following 
commissioned  and  non-commissioned  staff  officers :  Adju 
tant,  Lieutenant  James  O.  Berry ;  Quartermaster,  Lieutenant 
Robert  Howell ;  Surgeon,  Pleasant  W.  Logan ;  Sergeant- 
Major,  M.  C*.  Williams. 

These  were  the  first  line  and  staff  officers,  and  as  va 
cancies  occurred  they  were  filled  by  promotion.  No  more 
staff  officers  were  elected  or  appointed  for  some  time,  be 
cause  the  regiment  was  not  filled  up  to  a  war  standard.  Uni 
forms,  blankets,  knapsacks,  haversacks,  canteens  and  cook 
ing  utensils  were  issued  to  the  men  and  active  preparations 
commenced  to  fit  up  the  regiment  for  the  field.  All  will 
doubtless  remember  how  strange  and  yet  how  proud  most 
of  us  felt  when  dressed  for  the  first  time  in  our  bright,  new 
uniforms.  But  oh,  the  horrible  misfits !  The  pants  were 
either  too  long  or  too  short,  the  hats  too  large  or  too  small, 
the  coat-collars  so  high  and  stiff  that  we  could  scarcely  turn 
our  heads  at  the  command  eyes  right,  or  left,  while  the  tips 
of  the  fingers  of  a  short-armed  fellow  could  hardly  be  seen 
on  account  of  the  length  of  the  sleeves.  If  a  long-armed  fel 
low  drew  a  short-sleeved  coat  he  never  had  to  roll  up  his 
sleeves  for  a  fight. 

Our  first  camp  was  on  high  ground  and  well  laid  out, 
with  a  wride  street  between  each  row  of  tents.  The  big  white 
Sibley  tents  were  well  stretched  and  put  up  in  parallel  rows 
as  straight  as  a  "bee-line,"  which  added  greatly  to  the  ap 
pearance  of  the  camp.  About  fifty  Harper  Ferry  muskets 
were  issued  to  the  regiment  for  picket  and  guard  duty,  and 
on  discharging  the  piece  there  was  almost  as  much  danger 
in  the  rear  as  at  the  muzzle,  so  great  was  the  recoil.  Camp 
life  was  a  new  experience  to  the  men  and  it  took  some  little 
time  for  the  boys  who  had  been  accustomed  to  pleasure  and 
the  comforts  of  pleasant  homes  to  adapt  themselves  to  the 
various  changes,  but  before  the  end  of  their  first  year's  ser 
vice  they  had  learned  by  hard  experience  that  camp  life,  no 
matter  how  rigid  the  orders  were,  was  one  of  ease  and  com 
fort  as  compared  with  their  experience  at  the  front.  Old 


22  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Mother  Earth  was  our  bed,  and  but  little  complaint  was 
heard  among  the  men. 

Military  discipline  was  immediately  commenced.  There 
were  but  very  few  of  the  officers  or  men  in  the  regiment  who 
had  any  military  knowledge,  consequently  the  awkward 
squad  was  always  very  large  and  well  attended.  The  drum 
mers  beat  reveille  in  the  morning.  This  was  followed  by 
roll-call,  sick  call,  or  "quinine-call,"  as  the  boys  named  it, 
guard-mounting  and  drilling  six  hours  each  day. 

On  every  hand  it  was,  "Right  face,  left  face,  about  face, 
eyes  right,  eyes  left,  heads  up.  men,  heads  up,  forward 
march,  backward  march,  company  right  wheel,  left  wheel, 
halt,  parade  rest,"  day  after  day  until  the  long,  shuffling 
gait  was  changed  to  the  quick,  firm  step  of  a  soldier.  Our 
camp  was  a  long  distance  from  the  railroad,  consequently  all 
of  the  supplies  had  to  be  transported  in  army  wagons  over 
bad  roads.  Large  working  details  were  made  from  the  regi 
ment  and  sent  to  London,  where  the  men  built  miles  of  dirt 
and  corduroy  roads  along  Laurel  river.  All  the  worst  places 
received  our  careful  attention,  so  that  by  the  middle  of  May 
the  roads  had  sufficiently  dried  out  so  that  our  teams  could 
draw  a  well-loaded  wagon  to  camp. 

Here  is  where  the  government  mule  comes  in  for  his 
share  of  honor  in  helping  to  put  down  the  rebellion.  A  mule 
is  a  mule  the  world  over,  but  none  is  equal  to  a  government 
mule.  It  was  hard  to  get  along  with  him,  but  it  seemed 
utterly  impossible  to  get  along  without  him.  He  endured 
more  abuse  and  insults  than  all  of  the  army  put  together. 
He  never  talked  back,  but  would  "kick  back"  in  spite  of 
kind  treatment.  The  army  mule  has  never  had  justice  done 
him  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  war  could  have  been  carried  on 
without  him.  He  fell  in  battle  like  other  soldiers,  and  his 
remains  make  the  Q.  M.  mile-posts.  Often  after  a  hard 
day's  work  in  front  of  a  U.  S.  wagon  he  made  his  supper 
from  dry  leaves  or  dead  grass,  wTith  the  feed-box  or  wagon- 
tongue  for  dessert. 

It  is  only  after  the  last  army  mule  has  passed  beyond 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY. 


23 


the  cruel  treatment  of  the  armv  teamster  that  we  begin  to 
appreciate  how  much  we  owe  him.  Let  a  monument  be 
built  to  the  memory  of  the  unpraised,  unbreveted,  unpen- 
sioned  army  mule,  the  real  hero  of  the  war.  The  army  mule 
never  dodges  or  runs  from  anything,  as  it  has  a  battery  of 
its  own,  and  is  very  effective  at  close  range,  seldom  missing 
its  aim.  Bands  of  music,  the  rattle  of  drums  and  the  roar 
of  artillery  have  no  effect  on  him,  but  like  a  true  soldier  he 
stands  his  ground  and  makes  his  influence  felt  in  many 
ways. 

In  March,  1-862,  General  Buel,  who  at  that  time  was  in 
command  of  the  Department  of  the  Ohio,  issued  an  order  for 
the  organization  of  another  division,  to  be  known  as  the 
"Seventh  Division,  Army  of  the  Ohio,"  and  assigned  as  its 
commander  Brigadier-General  Geo.  W.  Morgan,  a  veteran 
officer  who  had  seen  service  in  the  war  with  Mexico. 

Early  in  April,  Morgan  moved  a  portion  of  his  com 
mand  to  Cumberland  Ford,  nine  rniies  southeast  of  Flat  Lick, 
and  at  once  assummed  command  of  all  the  troops  then  oper 
ating  in  Eastern  Kentucky.  The  Cumberland  Valley  was 
almost  destitute  of  supplies,  the  productions  of  that  region 
having  been  exhausted  by  the  enemy  the  preceding  year. 
Forage  for  the  teams  and  rations  for  the  troops  had  to  be 
hauled  from  fifty  to  sixty  miles,  over  almost  impassable 
roads.  Heavy  details  were  constantly  employed  upon  the 
main  road  and  for  a  time  it  looked  as  though  the  regiment 
would  be  compelled  to  battle  with  the  mud  instead  of  the 
enemy.  As  the  different  regiments  marched  by,  clad  in  their 
bright,  new  uniforms,  and  with  the  bright  barrels  of  their 
Enfield  rifles  gleaming  in  the  bright  sunlight,  we  became 
dissatisfied  with  our  "job"  and  longed  to  break  camp  and 
go  to  the  front,  as  we  did  not  enlist  to  work  on  the  public 
roads. 

The  first  death  in  the  regiment  was  Joel  M.  Jarvis,  Com 
pany  B,  who  died  of  measles  at  Barboursville,  Kentucky, 
April  12,  1862. 

How  our  memory  lingers  around  our  first  camp  as  we 


24  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

recall  the  many  pleasant  days  spent  at  Camp  Garber  while 
recruiting  was  going  on,  and  the  men  put  through  the  drill 
so  essential  for  troops  that  are  to  take  the  field.  Rumors 
frequently  reached  camp  that  the  regiment  would  soon  re 
ceive  marching  orders.  The  routine  duty  consisted  of  six 
hours'  drill  each  day,  with  dress  parade,  guard  and  picket 
duty. 

The  following  promotion  and  appointment  were  made 
in  the  Fourth  Tennessee :  Adjutant  James  O.  Berry  was  pro 
moted  to  major,  and  John  Hall,  of  Knoxville,  was  appointed 
adjutant. 

Early  in  May,  General  C.  L.  Stevenson,  who  was  hold 
ing  Cumberland  Gap  with  a  Confederate  force  of  six  or 
eight  thousand  men,  moved  up  and  made  an  attack  on  Gen 
eral  Morgan's  camp.  At  midnight  an  order  reached  Colonel 
Johnson's  camp.  The  order  was  for  him  to  move  his  regi 
ment  at  once  in  light  marching  order.  The  officers  passed 
from  tent  to  tent  and  yelled  out:  "Strike  tents  and  fall  in, 
boys !"  The  men  crawled  out  immediately  and  fell  into  line. 
The  whole  camp  was  wild  with  excitement,  but  no  order 
was  ever  more  quickly  or  cheerfully  obeyed. 

The  Fourth  Tennessee  up  to  this  time  had  not  been 
armed,  though  the  guns  were  then  at  Flat  Lick,  but  had  not 
been  issued  to  the  men.  The  teams  were  harnessed  and  in  a 
short  time  were  on  the  way  to  Flat  Lick  for  the  guns.  On 
returning  to  camp  the  boxes  were  opened  and  soon  the  bright 
barrels  of  the  Austrian  rifles  were  seen  flashing  in  the  light 
of  the  blazing  camp-fires.  Twenty  rounds  of  ammunition 
were  issued  to  each  man  and  about  2  a.  m.  the  regiment  left 
camp  and,  marching  through  Flat  Lick,  took  the  main  road 
leading  to  Cumberland  Ford.  A  drenching  rain  set  in  shortly 
after  leaving  camp,  making  marching  very  unpleasant  and 
laborious.  The  night  was  of  an  inky  blackness  and  the  road 
rough  and  slippery,  and  every  now  and  then  a  comrade 
would  lose  his  footing  and  fall  sprawling  in  the  mud.  This 
would  provoke  a  laugh,  and  during  that  night's  march  the 
Third  Commandment  was  no  doubt  often  violated. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  25 

But  the  regiment  trudged  along  through  the  rain  and 
mud  and  by  8  a.  m.  reached  Cumberland  Ford,  hungry,  hag 
gard,  and  somewhat  dilapidated,  and  found  the  Union  camp 
in  excitement  and  the  troops  under  arms.  The  attack  proved 
to  be  only  a  feint,  and  after  some  light  skirmishing  the  enemy 
fell  back  and  all  was  again  "quiet  along  the  Cumberland." 
The  Fourth  Tennessee  was  halted,  guns  stacked  and  the 
troops  ordered  to  cook  breakfast,  which  consisted  of  hot 
coffee,  bacon  broiled  on  pointed  sticks  and  laid  out  on 
crackers — familiarly  known  as  "hard  tack" — and  what  a 
breakfast  it  was,  to  hungry  soldiers. 

This  was  a  new  experience,  and  as  soon  as  this  hasty 
meal  was  disposed  of  the  men  lay  down  on  the  wet  ground 
and  soon  welcome  sleep  blotted  out  the  recollections  of  the 
night  march.  Late  in  the  afternoon  the  wagons  reached  the 
regiment,  a  camp  was  selected  and  tents  put  up,  and  while 
admiring  the  location  and  beautiful  appearance  of  our  second 
camp  an  order  came  to  strike  tents  and  march  at  once  to 
Woodbine,  about  thirty-eight  miles  northwest'  of  Cumber 
land  Ford.  This  move  was  made  to  head  off  John  H.  Mor 
gan,  the  daring  Confederate  raider,  who  was  reported  to  be 
moving  toward  Morgan's  line  of  communication. 

The  Fourth  Tennessee  was  now  about  to  enter  upon  its 
first  campaign,  and  it  is  rather  a  singular  fact  that  all  of  the 
first  marches  should  be  made  at  night,  but  like  true  soldiers 
the  men  sadly  but  resolutely  obeyed  the  order,  and  without 
rest  from  the  hard  and  fatiguing  march  of  the  preceding 
night  marched  out  singing,  "Hoe  your  cakes  and  scratch  your 
gravel,  In  Dixie's  land  we  are  bound  to  travel."  There  was 
but  little  complaint  in  the  ranks,  and  the  cheerfulness  with 
which  the  men  responded  to  duty  laid  a  foundation  on 
which  the  splendid  record  was  built  during  its  three  years' 
service. 

Colonel  Johnson  moved  his  regiment  from  camp  late  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  7th  and  marched  all  night,  reaching  Bar- 
boursville  the  next  morning.  Here  a  short  halt  was  made  to 
allow  the  men  to  rest  and  prepare  breakfast,  after  which 


26  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

the  march  was  resumed,  and  by  the  middle  of  the  afternoon 
the  regiment  reached  Woodbine.  Colonel  Johnson  selected 
his  camp  near  a  large  spring  and  in  a  beautiful  orchard.  The 
trees  were  in  full  bloom  and  old  Mother  Earth  richly  car 
peted,  while  from  among  the  blooming  trees  the  merry  song 
sters  enlivened  the  evenings  with  their  sweet  music.  Pickets 
were  thrown  out  on  all  the  roads  and  once  more  the  Fourth 
Tennessee,  tired  and  foot-sore,  settled  down  in  camp. 

While  at  this  place  the  regiment  had  its  first  alarm,  and 
the  prompt  manner  in  which  the  boys  turned  out  would  have 
put  to  shame  a  veteran  organization.  Colonel  Johnson  had 
previously  instructed  the  pickets,  and  between  midnight  and 
day  the  men  were  aroused  by  their  officers  and  sharp  firing  on 
the  picket  line.  The  officers  were  shouting  to  the  men,  "Fall 
in !  Fall  in  !  We  are  attacked !"  and  as  we  were  expecting 
to  be  attacked  by  John  H.  Morgan  none  but  the  officers  knew 
any  better.  Every  man  was  up  in  an  instant,  and  seizing 
his  musket  and  the  first  article  of  clothing  that  was  handiest, 
rushed  for  the  parade-ground,  some  dressing  as  they  ran, 
while  others  fell  into  line  without  shoes  or  hats  on. 

By  this  time  the  firing  had  reached  the  colonel's  quar 
ters,  and  he  and  his  staff  came  on  the  gallop  to  the  place 
where  the  regiment  was  being  formed,  and  immediately  or 
dered  it  to  double-quick  down  the  Somerset  road,  with  Com 
pany  C,  Captain  Jim  Brownlow  commanding,  in  the  ad 
vance.  After  moving  down  the  road  about  half  a  mile,  Col 
onel  Johnson  halted  the  regiment  and  formed  it  in  line  of 
battle  across  the  road.  All  this  time  the  men  in  the  ranks 
were  wondering  why  the  order  to  load  was  not  given.  After 
standing  in  line  of  battle  for  about  an  hour,  Colonel  Johnson 
marched  the  regiment  back  to  camp  and  ordered  the  men  to 
sleep  on  their  arms  the  remainder  of  the  night;  and  it  is 
doubtful  if  ever  there  was  a  more  wide-awake  regiment  than 
the  Fourth  Tennessee  during  the  rest  of  the  night. 

The  regiment  remained  at  this  place  until  the  middle  of 
May,  during  which  time  it  kept  up  its  daily  drill  and  dress 
parade.  On  the  I5th,  Colonel  Johnson  was  ordered  to  move 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  27 

his  regiment  to  London,  eighteen  miles  north  of  Woodbine. 
Camp  was  broken  at  dark  and  after  a  very  hard  night's 
march  over  a  rough  and  hilly  country  the  Fourth  Tennes 
see  reached  London  at  8  o'clock  the  next  morning  and  went 
into  camp  on  the  left  of  the  town.  Nothing  worthy  of  men 
tion  occurred  at  this  place,  our  time  being  spent  in  skirmish 
drill  and  target  practice. 

From  this  place  the  Fourth  Tennessee  was  ordered  to 
Barboursville,  a  beautiful  little  town  located  on  the  road 
leading  to  Cumberland  Gap  and  twenty-five  miles  from  Lon 
don.  This  march  was  made  in  daylight.  The  regiment  lay 
here  until  the  first  of  June.  General  Morgan  now  began  the 
concentration  of  his  army  at  Cumberland  Ford  for  his  pro 
posed  move  upon  Cumberland  Gap,  as  enough  of  supplies 
had  been  collected  to  warrant  him  in  making  this  move.  The 
first  of  June,  Colonel  Johnson  was  ordered  to  move  his  regi 
ment  to  Cumberland  Ford  and  here  the  Twenty-fifth  Brigade 
was  organized. 

The  Seventh  Division  as  originally  organized  was  com 
posed  of  four  brigades  of  infantry,  one  regiment  of  cavalry, 
four  batteries  of  artillery,  with  engineer  and  signal  corps 
attached,  as  follows : 

Twenty-fourth  Brigade,  Brigadier-General  S.  P.  Carter 
commanding:  ist  Tenn.,  Colonel  R.  K.  Byrd;  2nd  Tenn., 
Colonel  J.  P.  T.  Carter;  ;th  Ky.,  Colonel  T.  T.  Garrard; 
49th  Ind.,  Colonel  James  Kegwin. 

Twenty-fifth  Brigade,  Brigadier-General  Jas.  G.  Spears 
commanding:  3rd  Tenn.,  Colonel  L.  C.  Houk ;  4th  Tenn., 
Colonel  Robert  Johnson;  5th  Tenn.,  Colonel  Jas.  T.  Shelly; 
6th  Tenn.,  Colonel  Joseph  A.  Cooper. 

Twenty-sixth  Brigade,  Colonel  John  F.  De  Courcey 
commanding:  i6th  Ohio,  Lieutenant-Colonel  G.  W.  Bailey; 
22nd  Ky.,  Colonel  D.  W.  Lindsey ;  42nd  Ohio,  Colonel  L.  A. 
Sheldon. 

Twenty-seventh  Brigade,  Brigadier-General  A.  Baird 
commanding:  33rd  Ind.,  Colonel  John  Coburn;  I4th  Ky., 
Colonel  J.  C.  Cochran ;  iQth  Ky.,  Colonel  W.  J.  Landrum ; 
6th  Ky.  Cavalry,  Colonel  Reuben  Monday. 


28  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Artillery:  1st  Wis.  Battery,  Captain  J.  T.  Foster,  six 
2O-pound  Parrott  guns;  7th  Mich.  Battery,  Captain  C.  H. 
Lanphere,  six  6-pound  Rodman  guns ;  Qth  Ohio  Battery, 
Captain  Wetmore,  two  2O-pounders  and  two  12-pound  How 
itzers  ;  eight  heavy  seige  guns.  Lieutenant  Dan  Webster. 

Engineer  Corps,  Captain  W.  F.  Patterson. 

Signal  Corps,  Lieutenant  H.  G.  Fisher,  three  officers  and 
ten  men. 

Morgan's  division  had  an  aggregate  strength  of  twelve 
thousand  five  hundred  men,  the  majority  of  whom  were  new 
troops,  but  brave  and  resolute.  Later  on  in  the  war  the 
troops  composing  the  division  made  gallant  records  in  the 
armies  of  the  Tennessee,  Cumberland  and  Ohio.  Upon  their 
victorious  banners  were  inscribed  the  battles  of  Vicksburg, 
Donelson,  Shiloh,  Murfreesboro,  Chickamauga,  Resaca, 
Picket's  Mill,  Kennesaw  Mt.,  Peachtree  Creek,  Ezra  Church, 
Franklin,  Nashville  and  a  score  more  of  important  battles 
fought  by  the  men  composing  this  division. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY. 


CHAPTER  II. 

CUMBERLAND  GAP — MORGAN'S  CAMPAIGN — THE  STRONGHOLD 
FALLS — OPERATIONS  AROUND  THE  GAP — HARD  SERVICE 
AND  SHORT  RATIONS — BI$  CREEK  GAP. 

This  was  a  large  army  to  be  maintained  in  a  mountain 
ous  country,  the  inhabitants  producing  scarcely  enough  for 
their  own  use,  much  less  to  feed  an  army,  and  to  take  from 
them  seemed  like  robbery.  It  was  about  eighty  miles  to  the 
nearest  depot  of  supplies  and  the  greater  portion  of  that  dis 
tance  was  through  a  hilly  country.  The  only  means  of  trans 
portation  was  army  wagons  and  the  roads  were  so  bad  that 
the  teams  could  not  make  more  than  ten  to  twelve  miles  a  day. 
This  was  an  undertaking  of  more  than  ordinary  magnitude, 
but  General  Morgan  and  his  army  were  patient  under  the 
circumstances  and  by  the  first  of  June  enough  of  supplies  had 
been  accumulated  to  warrant  Morgan  in  entering  upon  his 
proposed  campaign,  the  objective  point  being  the  capture  of 
Cumberland  Gap,  one  of  the  most  noted  in  the  great  Cumber 
land  range. 

From  scouts  and  reconnoissances  made  toward  this 
stronghold,  Morgan  learned  that  the  Gap  was  well  fortified 
and  held  by  five  or  six  thousand  troops,  under  the  command 
of  General  Stevenson.  This  information  led  Morgan  to 
abandon  his  contemplated  attack  in  front  and  force  Steven 
son  to  evacuate  the  Gap  by  a  flank  movement.  It  is  exceed 
ingly  doubtful  if  the  place  could  have  been  carried  by  a  direct 
assault,  on  account  of  the  roughness  of  the  approaches. 

The  country  over  which  Morgan's  army  marched  in  this 
great  flank  movement  was  exceedingly  rough  and  molmtain- 
ous,  and  to  one  who  has  never  passed  over  the  route  it  would 
be  very  hard  to  imagine  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  in 


30  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

transporting  cannon  and  a  heavy  baggage  train  over  it.  It 
is  a  short  day's  march  from  Cumberland  Ford  to  Cumberland 
Gap,  but  to  reach  the  latter  place  by  Big  Creek  Gap  would 
require  at  least  ten  to  twelve  clays  of  hard  marching  over 
almost  impassable  roads,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  miles. 

The  only  gaps  that  could  be  crossed  by  an  army  encum 
bered  with  artillery  and  heavily  loaded  wagons  were  Big 
Creek  and  Rogers  Gaps,  and  toward  these  Morgan  marched 
his  army  in  two  columns  of  two  brigades  each.  Big  Creek 
Gap  is  thirty-eight  miles  nearly  due  west  from  Cumberland 
C^ap  and  thirty-six  miles  from  Cumberland  Ford.  These 
gaps  were  all  blockaded  and  a  small  force  stationed  at  each 
one  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  Union  army.  General 
H.  K.  Smith  was  in  command  of  the  Department  of  East 
Tennessee  and  had  placed  General  Barton  with  his  division 
near  the  mouth  of  Big  Creek  Gap  on  the  south  side  to  pre 
vent  Morgan's  troops  from  crossing  at  this  gap. 

All  of  Morgan's  division  was  at  Cumberland  Ford  ex 
cept  Spears'  brigade,  which  at  that  time  was  encamped  near 
Boston,  Kentucky.  A  floating  bridge  was  built  across  Cum 
berland  River  and  the  army  moved  to  the  south  side.  Gen 
eral  Spears'  brigade — except  the  Fourth  Tennessee  Volun 
teers — was  ordered  to  the  foot  of  Pine  Mountain,  on  the  Big 
Creek  Gap  road,  for  the  purpose  of  removing  the  blockade. 
In  order  to  deceive  the  enemy  at  Cumberland  Gap,  a  feint 
was  made  in  that  direction  to  cover  the  movements  on  Rogers 
and  Big  Creek  Gaps. 

On  the  Qth  day  of  June,  the  Fourth  Tennessee  broke 
camp  at  Cumberland  Ford  and  marched  with  General  Car 
ter's  brigade — to  which -it  was  at  that  time  temporarily  at 
tached — to  the  old  Moss  house  on  the  Cumberland  Gap  road, 
where  the  whole  command  bivouacked  for  the  night.  The 
next  morning  we  were  joined  by  Captain  Lanphere's  Sev 
enth  Michigan  Battery,  after  which  the  entire  brigade  and 
battery  moved  a  short  distance  on  the  Clear  Creek  road  and 
encamped  for  the  night. 

Resuming  the  march  the  next  day  the  brigade  marched 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  31 

on  to  Boston  by  way  of  Lambdin's,  where  it  bivouacked  for 
the  night.  We  experienced  great  trouble  in  getting  our 
wagons  and  the  artillery  over  the  almost  impassable  roads. 
On  the  morning  of  the  I3th,  General  Carter  was  ordered  to 
move  his  brigade  through  Big  Creek  Gap  and  join  Morgan 
at  Rogers  Gap  in  Powell's  Valley.  The  command  was 
moved  out  early  on  the  morning  of  the  i^th,  and  as  the  day 
wore  away  the  long  drawn-out  column  of  weary  troops  could 
be  seen  tramping  along  cheerfully  toward  Pine  Mountain, 
believing  when  the  summit  was  reached  the  road  would  be 
better. 

The  march,  however,  was  relieved  of  much  of  its  tedi- 
ousness  by  the  grandeur  of  the  scenery.  This  was  an  exceed 
ingly  hard  day  on  the  men  as  well  as  the  horses  and  mules, 
but  by  the  united  exertion  of  the  troops  the  wagons  and  ar 
tillery  were  safely  taken  across  Pine  Mountain,  though  the 
men  and  horses  were  greatly  fatigued. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  he  I5th,  General  Carter  re 
ceived  a  dispatch  from  General  Spears  at  Big  Creek  Gap 
stating  that  his  brigade  was  attacked,  and  requesting  him  to 
move  immediately  to  his  support.  The  troops  were  ordered 
into  line  and  in  a  short  time  the  column  was  under  way,  and 
so  eager  were  the  men  to  meet  the  enemy  that  they  forgot 
the  hard  and  tedious  marches  of  the  preceding  days,  pushed 
forward  and  reached  General  Spears'  position,  ten  miles  dis 
tant,  by  noon.  When  Carter's  troops  reached  Spears  at  Big 
Creek  Gap  all  was  quiet,  his  troops  having  repulsed  the 
enemy,  which  proved  to  be  a  part  of  General  Barton's  com 
mand.  Heavy  details  were  made  to  assist  the  teams  in  over 
coming  the  ascents  and  descents  of  this  mountainous  coun 
try. 

The  road — as  it  was  called — was  rough  and  full  of  huge 
boulders,  and  at  some  places  was  very  steep,  narrow  and 
winding,  in  fact  at  places  it  seemed  utterly  impossible  to  pass 
by  safely.  At  places  where  the  road  was  so  crooked  and  full 
of  boulders  there  was  great  danger  of  the  artillery  and 
wagons  being  precipitated  down  the  almost  perpendicular 


32  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

banks  of  jagged  rocks  at  places  almost  a  hundred  feet  high, 
meaning  death  to  man  or  beast  if  they  toppled  over  these 
yawning  chasms.  But  by  doubling  the  teams  and  the  troops 
tugging  at  ropes,  block  and  tackle,  this  great  task  was  ac 
complished  with  but  slight  loss.  The  heaviest  siege  guns 
weighed  eight  thousand  pounds  and  the  reader  can  form  his 
own  conclusions  of  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking. 

On  reaching  Big  Creek  Gap,  Colonel  Johnson  was  or 
dered  to  join  Spears'  brigade,  the  one  to  which  the  regiment 
belonged.    On  the  following  morning  the  line  of  march  was 
taken  up  and  the  Fourth  Tennessee,  with  the  remainder  of 
the  army,  moved  up  Powell's  Valley  to  Rogers'  Gap,  where 
it  bivouacked  for  the  night.     As  we  marched  up  the  valley 
the  loyal  people  lined  the  road  and  gave  us  a  warm  greeting, 
and  the  frequent  outbursts  of  joy  at  the  sight  of  the  old  flag 
and  the  marching  soldiers  led  us  to  believe  that  the  greet 
ing  was   from  true  Unionists.     At  Rogers'   Gap,   Morgan 
again  united  his  army.     The  brigades  of  De  Courcey  and 
Baird  had  moved  from  Cumberland  Ford  toward  Cumber 
land  Gap,  and  after  a  slight  demonstration  in  front  of  that 
stronghold,  moved  to  Rogers'  Gap,  and  after  removing  the 
blockade,  crossed  the  mountain  and  marched  out  into  Pow 
ell's  Valley.     On  the  approach  of  Morgan's  troops  at  Big 
Creek  and  Rogers'  Gaps,  Barton  moved  rapidly  up  the  valley 
toward  Cumberland  Gap. 

General  Morgan  had  quietly  turned  Stevenson's  left 
flank  and  his  army  was  now  all  on  the  south  side  of  the 
mountain  and  nineteen  miles  west  of  Cumberland  Gap.  Mor 
gan  was  now  between  Stevenson  and  Smith,  and  decided  to 
advance  upon  Cumberland  Gap  before  Kirby  Smith  could 
concentrate  his  forces  at  that  point  or  fight  him  in  the  field. 
Morgan  issued  orders  for  his  division  to  move  at  I  a.  m.  on 
the  1 8th  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  the  enemy,  who  was 
then  said  to  be  encamped  in  force  at  or  near  the  Thomas 
farm,  about  nine  miles  from  Rogers'  Gap. 

The  army  moved  forward  in  two  columns  of  two  brigades 
each,  on  almost  parallel  roads  running  from  near  Rogers' 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  33 

Gap  and  intersecting  at  Thomas'.  Carter's  and  Spears'  bri 
gades  moved  along  the  new  valley  road,  De  Courcey  and 
Baird  on  the  old  valley  road,  but  before  the  two  columns 
reached  the  Thomas  farm  the  enemy  abandoned  it  and  fled 
in  great  confusion  toward  Cumberland  Gap.  After  a  short 
rest  the  two  columns  were  united  and  the  army  continued  the 
march  up  the  valley  toward  the  Gap.  Late  in  the  afternoon 
the  army  came  in  sight  of  Cumberland  Gap,  and  Morgan 
was  about  to  begin  deploying  his  troops  for  an  attack  when 
the  scouts  sent  out  by  him  returned  and  reported  this  great 
stronghold  abandoned. 

This  great  military  prize  fell  by  Morgan's  strategy  after 
a  brief  campaign  made  under  the  most  severe  and  trying  dif 
ficulties,  and  before  the  close  of  the  day — i8th — the  Seventh 
Division  marched  in  and  took  possession.  Everything  indi 
cated  a  hasty  retreat.  Stevenson  threw  five  or  six  heavy 
cannon  down  the  cliffs,  besides  several  left  in  position.  All 
of  his  tents  were  slitted  and  left  standing.  A  large  amount 
of  stores  and  army  supplies  were  destroyed,  but  quite  a  lot 
fell  into  our  hands  not  injured.  On  taking  possession  of 
the  Gap  a  national  salute  was  fired  in  honor  of  its  capture, 
by  Foster's  battery,  from  the  summit,  while  from  the  pin 
nacle  the  Stars  and  Stripes  could  be  seen  floating  high  above 
our  heads,  its  silken  folds  being  kissed  by  the  mountain 
breeze. 

"Forever  float  that  standard  sheet, 

Where  breathes  the  foe  that  falls  before  us, 
With  freedom's  soil  beneath  our  feet, 

And  freedom's  banner  streaming  o'er  us." 

Iii  his  report  of  the  Cumberland  Gap  campaign,  General 
Morgan  says :  "The  result  secured  by  strategy  is  less  bril 
liant  than  a  victory  gained  amid  the  storm  and  hurricane  of 
battle,  but  humanity  has  gained  all  that  glory  has  lost,  and  I 
am  satisfied." 

The  following  order  from  the  Department  Commander 
will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  his  high  appreciation  of  this 
bloodless  victorv : 


34  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  RF.GIMENT 

HEADQUARTERS  AR^Y  01?  THE  OHIO, 

Htmtsville,  Ala.,  July  n,  1862. 
GENERAL  ORDERS  No.  29. 

The  General  commanding  the  Army  of  the  Ohio  takes  pleasure 
in  announcing  the  success  of  an  arduous  and  hazardous  campaign  by 
the  Seventh  Division,  Brigadier-General  George  W.  Morgan  com 
manding,  by  which  the  enemy's  fortified  position  at  Cumberland  Gap 
was  turned  and  his  forces  compelled  to  retreat  as  our  troops  ad 
vanced  to  attack.  The  General  commanding  thanks  General  Morgan 
and  the  troops  of  the  Seventh  Division  for  the  ability  displayed  in 
the  operations  against  this  important  stronghold  and  for  the  energy, 
fortitude  and  cheerfulness  which  they  exhibited  in  their  struggle  with 
difficulties  of  the  most  formidable  magnitude  for  an  army. 

By  command  of  MAJOR-GENERAL  BUEL. 
*  JAS.  B.  FRY, 

/  Colonel  and  Chief  of  Staff. 

General  Morgan  placed  his  troops  in  and  around  the 
Gap  and  began  the  construction  of  such  works  as  seemed 
necessary  for  the  protection  of  his  army  from  an  attack  from 
the  south.  Cumberland  Gap,  which  has  been  by  some  one 
denominated  the  "Gibraltar  of  America,"  was  famous  long 
before  the  thunder  of  Confederate  guns  were  heard  at  Fort 
Sumter.  It  was  through  this  noted  pass  that  Daniel  Boone, 
the  great  hunter  and  explorer,  crossed  on  his  way  to  the 
"Blue  Grass  State,"  and  was  also  one  of  the  first  points  garri 
soned  in  this  section  by  the  Confederates  in  1861.  It  is  situ 
ated  at  the  point  of  junction  between  three  States.  By  the 
side  of  the  road  on  the  south  side  and  near  the  summit  stands 
a  stone  which  marks  the  corner  of  three  States — Tennessee, 
Virginia  and  Kentucky.  Some  of  the  boys  declared  that  they 
could  stand  in  three  States  at  once  by  placing  themselves  on 
the  top  of  this  noted  corner-stone. 

During  the  war  it  was  held  by  both  armies,  and  was  a 
position  of  great  importance,  it  being  a  great  natural  gate 
way  and  key  to  the  States  of  Tennessee,  Kentucky  and  Vir 
ginia.  This  noted  mountain  pass  is  one  of  the  deepest  clefts 
in  the  great  Cumberland  range,  and  is  at  least  one  thousand 
feet  higher  than  the  base,  while  on  each  side  its  lofty  peaks 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  35 

tower  at  least  one  thousand  feet  higher.  Through  this  gap 
cannon  and  heavily  laden  army  wagons  could  cross  without 
difficulty,  besides  it  was  the  main  gateway  to  the  center  of  the 
Confederacy,  for  only  a  short  distance  south  was  the  main 
and  most  important  railroad  which  connects  Richmond  with 
the  Gulf  States.  This  was  the  road  on  which  the  Unionists 
of  East  Tennessee  burned  so  many  bridges. 

It  is  also  noted  for  its  many  springs  of  pure,  sparkling 
water  that  leaps  and  jumps  down  its  rugged  sides.  The  one 
on  the  south  side  furnishes  power  for  a  busy  mill  that  stood 
at  the  southern  base,  which  did  constant  duty  for  the  Con 
federate  as  well  as  the  Union  army  early  in  the  war.  It  was 
burned  by  a  detachment  of  the  Second  Tennessee  Volunteers, 
led  by  Major  Dan  Carpenter,  in  1863.  Morgan's  division 
were  the  first  Union  troops  to  carry  the  old  flag  across  these 
rugged  mountains  and  to  enter  this  great  stronghold.  The 
peak  to  the  east  is  much  the  highest,  and  from  this  dizzy 
point  a  magnificent  view  of  the  States  of  Tennessee,  Ken 
tucky  and  Virginia  may  be  had,  while  away  in  the  blue,  hazy 
distance  the  great  Blue  Ridge  range  and  the  beautiful  Chil- 
howee  may  be  seen. 

General  Morgan  established  his  headquarters  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Gap,  at  Dr.  Morrison's  residence,  a  short 
distance  east  of  the  Tazewell  road.  General  Spears'  brigade 
was  encamped  still  east  of  Morgan's  headquarters  and  near 
the  Virginia  road.  Drills  and  parades  that  had  been  given 
up  during  the  campaign  were  revived,  and  some  days  the 
level  space  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  was  completely  cov 
ered  with  troops,  all  going  through  different  movements. 

Early  in  July,  General  Morgan  sent  Spears'  brigade  four 
miles  northeast  of  the  Gap  into  Lee  county,  Virginia,  to 
watch  the  enemy  and  collect  forage.  The  camp  was  on  the 
Virginia  road,  near  Woodson's  Creek,  and  was  named  "Camp 
Morgan,"  in  honor  of  General  Geo.  W.  Morgan,  command- 
ig  the  Seventh  Division,  Army  of  the  Ohio.  This  was  the 
first  time  that  the  entire  brigade  had  ever  been  in  camp  to 
gether  since  its  organization. 


36  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Camp  life  at  this  place  was  made  up  of  picketing,  scout 
ing,  skirmishing,  drills  and  parades.  Some  of  the  outposts 
were  under  the  rugged  peaks  of  the  mountain,  and  as  the 
weary  sentinel  stood  quietly  on  the  lonely  picket-post  with 
his  faithful  musket  by  his  side  the  whispering  pines  were 
lonesome  companions.  As  the  enemy  were  in  close  prox 
imity  to  our  camp,  great  care  and  diligence  was  required  to 
prevent  surprise,  for  we  had  no  cavalry  to  do  outpost  duty. 

One  of  the  picket  posts  was  well  up  to  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  and  one  dark  night  the  picket,  who  was  wide 
awake  and  with  eagle  eye  was  peering  into  the  darkness  to 
detect  the  form  of  a  man  or  an  animal  that  he  heard  in  his 
front.  He  did  not  want  to  arouse  the  reserves,  nor  did  he 
want  to  be  captured,  so  at  last,  tired  of  further  suspense,  he 
fired  into  the  darkness.  This  shot  aroused  the  reserves,  as 
well  as  the  old  government  mule  that  was  quietly  approach 
ing  his  supposed  friend.  With  lowered  head  and  tail  ex 
tended  he  dashed  madly  by  the  picket,  and  the  reserves,  be 
lieving  him  to  be  harmless,  refused  to  fire.  Soon  all  became 
quiet  and  no  further  alarm  occurred  during  the  night.  The 
faithful  sentinel,  when  asked  why  he  fired  upon  the  defence 
less  mule,  remarked  that  it  had  no  business  outside  the  picket 
line  without  the  countersign.  In  some  way  this  mule  had 
gone  beyond  the  picket  line  unobserved,  possibly  in  search  of 
something  to  satisfy  his  craving  appetite,  and  returning  after 
dark  was  fired  upon  without  being  challenged. 

The  whole  camp  was  kept  guarded  night  and  day,  the 
beats  were  numbered  and  at  intervals  during  the  night  each 
sentinel  was  required  to  call  out  the  number  of  his  beat  or 
post  in  the  following  manner,  beginning  with  post  number 
one:  "Four  o'clock  and  post  number  one  all  right."  The 
sentinel  on  beat  number  two  would  in  like  manner  call  out 
his  number,  this  was  followed  by  the  next  one  and  continued 
until  the  round  was  made,  and  if  a  sentinel  failed  to  respond 
the  corporal  of  the  guard  was  sent  to  find  out  the  trouble. 

This  was  a  new  experience  to  the  men  composing  the 
Twenty-fifth  Brigade,  and  this  system  of  camp  guard  was 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY. 


37 


the  work  of  the  fertile  brain  of  General  Spears,  our  brigade 
commander.  It  is  doubtful  if  there  was  another  brigade  in 
the  whole  army  that  maintained  such  a  system  around  its 
camp,  yet  it  served  his  purpose  well  and  kept  many  a  sleepy- 
headed  sentinel  awake  while  on  duty.  The  men  and  most 
of  the  officers  were  without  military  experience  and  as  our 
camp  was  located  in  the  enemy's  country,  vigilance  was  a 
necessity,  and  be  it  said  to  the  credit  of  General  Spears  that 
his  camp  was  never  surprised,  though  hardly  a  day  passed 
without  a  brush  with  the  enemy  somewhere  on  the  picket 
line. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  5th  of  August,  General 
Spears'  camp  was  thrown  into  great  excitement  by  an  order 
from  General  Morgan  directing  the  Twenty-fifth  Brigade  to 
march  at  once  to  the  relief  of  De  Courcey's  brigade  at  Taze- 
well,  Tennessee.  De  Courcey  had  been  sent  by  Morgan  to 
Tazewell  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  a  lot  of  supplies  stored 
at  that  place  by  the  enemy.  The  Fourth  Tennessee  left  camp 
at  dark  and  marched  with  the  remainder  of  the  brigade  in 
light  marching  order  toward  Tazewell.  Spears  moved  his 
troops  rapidly  along  the  dusty  road  and  on  reaching  Powell's 
River,  six  miles  from  Cumberland  Gap,  met  De  Courcey  fall 
ing  back. 

Part  of  De  Courcey's  brigade  was  pretty  roughly  hand 
led.  While  the  wagons  were  being  loaded,  Stevenson's  di 
vision  made  an  attack  on  his  brigade,  but  he  held  his  position 
against  great  odds  until  the  two  hundred  wagons  he  had 
taken  with  him  were  loaded  and  well  on  their  way  toward  the 
Gap.  In  this  engagement  Colonel  G.  W.  Gordon,  Eleventh 
Tennessee  Volunteers,  C.  S.  A.,  was  captured  by  the  Six 
teenth  Ohio  of  De  Courcey's  brigade.  After  a  short  rest  the 
two  brigades  returned  to  camp. 

It  was  while  the  Fourth  Tennessee  lay  at  Camp  Morgan 
and  during  the  sharp  and  almost  continuous  picket  fighting 
that  Captain  Brownlow,  of  Company  C,  began  to  develop 
such  fine  soldierly  qualities  that  later  on  made  him  famous 
as  a  "fighter."  The  daily  picket  fighting  gave  him  splendid 


38  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

opportunities  and  he  soon  won  for  himself  a  brilliant  reputa 
tion  as  a  brave  and  determined  leader.  When  the  regiment 
was  organized  at  Flat  Lick  the  office  of  lieutenant-colonel 
was  left  vacant,  and  up  to  this  position  James  P.  Brownlow, 
captain  of  Company  C,  the  youngest  captain  in  the  regiment, 
was  promoted.  He  was  the  youngest  son  of  Rev.  W.  G. 
Brownlow,  of  Knoxville,  more  familiarly  known  as  Parson 
Brownlow,  one  of  the  leading  Unionists  of  East  Tennessee 
and  editor  and  proprietor  of  Brownlow's  Knoxville  Whig. 
Captain  Bro \vnlow  was  just  nineteen  years  old  when  he  was 
promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Fourth  Tennessee  Vol 
unteers.  He  was  tall  and  well  proportioned,  with  keen,  pene 
trating,  gray  eyes.  He  was  a  soldier  of  fine  ability,  full  of 
enterprise,  energy  and  courage.  He  was  never  heard  to  say 
"Go,  boys,"  but  always,  "Come  on,  boys !"  Agreeable  in  his 
manners  and  accessible  to  all,  he  was  strictly  honorable  in 
all  of  his  dealings  with  men  and  the  government. 

First  Lieutenant  M.  T.  Burkhart  was  promoted  to  cap 
tain,  and  Second  Lieutenant  E.  J.  Cannon  to  first  lieutenant. 
First  Sergeant  J.  K.  Lones  was  promoted  to  second  lieu 
tenant. 

About  the  middle  of  August,  General  Spears'  brigade 
was  ordered  back  to  the  Gap.  The  occupation  of  Cumber 
land  Gap  by  the  Union  army  shortened  the  distance  and 
greatly  reduced  the  chances  of  capture  by  the  enemy  of  the 
East  Tennessee  Unionists,  \vho  now  came  to  the  Gap  by  hun 
dreds,  leaving  behind  fathers,  mothers,  wives  and  sisters. 
These  loyal  men  came  to  enlist,  and  soon  the  ranks  of  all 
the  Tennessee  regiments  were  full  and  the  Second,  Third 
and  Fourth  Cavalry  were  beginning  to  receive  recruits. 
From  the  loyal  citizens  three  more  companies  were  recruited 
for  the  regiment,  as  follows : 

COMPANY  G. 

Captain,  I.  C.  Leger;  First  Lieutenant,  W.  W.  Mosier;  Second 
Lieutenant,  H.  K.  Fields. 

COMPANY  I. 

Captain,  Abraham  Hammond ;  First  Lieutenant,  W.  A.  Kidwell ; 
Second  Lieutenant,  Jas.  H.  Elkins. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  39 

COMPANY  K. 

Captain,  Burton  Smith;  First  Lieutenant,  Nelson  Bowman; 
Second  Lieutenant,  Alexander  M.  Smith. 

This  made  the  ten  companies  and  brought  the  Fourth 
Tennessee  up  to  the  government  standard  for  an  infantry 
regiment,  and  each  company  retained  the  same  letter  and 
position  during  the  service,  with  A  on  the  right  and  then 
the  other  companies  from  right  to  left,  in  the  following 
order:  F,  D,  I,  C,  H,  E,  K,  G  and  B. 

The  Fourth  Tennessee  had  been  without  a  chaplain  up 
to  this  time,  and  no  doubt  it  was  a  most  fortunate  thing,  as 
the  regiment  now  had  an  opportunity  of  procuring  the  service 
of  an  able  Christian  gentleman.  Among  those  who  made 
their  escape  and  came  through  the  lines  to  our  camp  was 
Rev.  John  P.  Holtsinger,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  min 
ister  of  Greeneville,  and  at  the  request  of  Colonel  Johnson  the 
commissioned  officers  voted  for  and  unanimously  elected  him 
chaplain  of  the  regiment.  He  was  a  model  Christian,  intelli 
gent,  kind  and  brave,  and  the  noble  example  that  he  set  be 
fore  the  men  composing  the  regiment  was  worthy  of  emu 
lation.  The  profound  confidence  that  the  men  had  in  him  in 
camp  as  well  as  upon  the  battlefield  was  such  that  he  was 
called  the  "Father  of  the  Regiment."  He  was  always  pres 
ent  on  the  field  of  battle,  in  the  midst  of  danger  and  death,  to 
speak  words  of  comfort  to  the  wounded  and  dying,  and  one 
of  the  best  evidences  of  his  popularity  and  worth  is  that  he 
"stuck"  to  us  to  the  end. 

Shortly  after  the  occupation  of  Cumberland  Gap  by  Gen 
eral  Morgan's  forces,  Lieutenant  VV.  P.  Craighill,  of  the  En 
gineer  Corps,  was  sent  to  the  Gap  and  commenced  the  con 
struction  of  such  defensive  works  as  would  assure  the  safety 
of  the  position  with  a  small  force.  These  works  were  built 
on  the  south  side,  and  so  situated  that  should  this  great 
stronghold  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  they  could  not 
be  used  in  an  attack  from  the  north  side.  In  the  construction 
of  these  works  large  details  were  made  from  the  different 


40  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

regiments  to  build  them.  General  Smith  did  not  withdraw 
his  forces  very  far  from  the  Gap  after  its  fall.  General  Stev 
enson's  division  remained  in  close  proximity,  and  the  re 
mainder  of  Smith's  troops  were  stationed  at  other  points 
more  or  less  remote. 

About  the  I5th  of  August,  General  Spears  was  ordered 
to  Wallace's  Cross  Roads,  eighteen  miles  north  of  Knoxville, 
for  the  purpose  of  breaking  up  a  Confederate  camp  at  that 
place.  Spears  moved  his  brigade  through  the  Gap  to  the 
north  side  of  the  mountain  and  then  turning  west  marched 
down  the  north  side  to  Big  Creek  Gap.  This  camp  was 
about  fifty  to  sixty  miles  from  Cumberland  Gap,  direct  route, 
and  was  considered  a  dangerous  movement,  as  almost  the 
whole  distance  lay  within  the  enemy's  line  and  was  made 
without  the  aid  of  cavalry.  But  in  the  ranks  of  Spears'  bri 
gade  there  were  scores  of  men  who  were  well  acquainted 
with  the  country  through  which  he  was  to  march. 

From  Big  Creek  Gap,  Spears  turned  south  and  moved 
rapidly  toward  Robbins'  Ford,  on  Clinch  River.  This  ford 
is  something  near  six  miles  below  the  junction  of  Powell's 
river  with  Clinch,  and  about  five  miles  from  Wallace's  Cross 
Roads.  This  was  before  the  day  of  pontoons  in  the  Army 
of  the  Ohio,  and  to  the  men  in  the  ranks  there  seemed  but 
one  way  to  cross.  The  troops  pulled  off  their  shoes  and 
placed  them  and  their  cartridge-boxes  and  belts  on  the  muz 
zles  of  their  guns  so  as  to  keep  them  dry,  and  while  waiting 
for  orders  to  cross  some  freak  of  memory  suggested  that 
grand  old  hymn: 

"On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  starid, 
And  cast  a  wishful  eye." 

It  was.  however,  a  season  of  the  year  when  the  water 
was  not  cold  and  the  boys  rather  enjoyed  the  bath,  but  were 
a  little  slow  to  enter  the  stream  at  the  start.  From  this  point 
Spears  pushed  on  and  at  noon  reached  the  enemy's  camp, 
which  he  completely  surprised. 

The  Confederates  were  quietly  cooking  their  dinner,  not 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  41 

thinking  for  a  moment  that  there  was  a  Yankee  in  fifty  miles 
of  them.  They  were  routed  and  fled  in  all  directions,  leav 
ing  their  warm  dinner  for  us,  and  sixty-five  men  killed, 
wounded  and  captured,  besides  several  horses  and  mules  and 
a  lot  of  guns  and  camp  equipage. 

Spears'  brigade  was  now  within  eighteen  miles  of  Knox- 
ville,  the  home  of  many  of  his  men.  From  loyal  citizens  we 
learned-  afterwards  that  this  movement  of  Spears  produced 
the  wildest  confusion  in  Knoxville  and  that  the  enemy  ex 
pected  the  "despised  Yankees"  at  any  moment.  Spears'  bri 
gade  was  composed  wholly  of  Tennessee  troops,  and  many 
of  the  men  were  almost  in  sight  of  their  homes,  but  were  not 
permitted  to  leave  the  ranks  for  fear  of  being  captured. 

General  Spears  returned  by  the  same  route  without  the 
loss  of  a  man.  Feed  for  the  mules  and  artillery  horses  was 
scarce  and  frequent  foraging  expeditions  were  sent  out  under 
an  infantry  escort  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  feed,  and 
often  a  lively  skirmish  would  take  place  over  a  disputed  corn 
field. 

General  Morgan  endeavored  to  provoke  Stevenson  to 
give  battle,  but  without  success.  His  troops  often  advanced 
to  his  camp,  surprised  and  captured  his  outposts,  but  was 
unable  to  bring  on  an  engagement.  Toward  the  last  of 
August,  General  E.  K.  Smith  moved  with  the  greater  part  of 
his  army  into  Kentucky,  by  way  of  Big  Creek  Gap,  and  took 
up  a  strong  position  near  Big  Hill  and  Richmond.  This  sud 
den  and  unexpected  movement  of  Smith  completely  cut  Mor 
gan  off  from  his  base  of  supplies,  and  anticipating  the  total 
exhaustion  of  his  supplies  on  hand  before  communication 
could  be  restored,  he  was  compelled  to  put  his  troops  on  half 
rations  and  made  preparation  to  hold  out  to  the  last  ex 
tremity.  The  Third  Tennessee,  Third  Kentucky  and  Mun- 
day's  cavalry  were  sent  to  aid  a  column  organized  for  the 
relief  of  his  troops,  but  were  attacked  at  London  and  Big 
Hill  before  being  united  with  the  other  troops,  and  after  a 
sharp  engagement  were  routed  and  forced  to  return.  In  this 
engagement  the  Third  Tennessee,  of  our  brigade,  met  with 
considerable  loss,  especially  at  Big  Hill. 


42  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Early  in  September,  W.  S.  Reynolds,  the  noted  and  dar 
ing  Tennessee  scout  and  hero  of  three  wars,  reached  General 
Morgan's  headquarters  and  informed  him  that  a  well- 
equipped  detachment  of  the  enemy,  said  to  be  McAfee's 
Kentucky  cavalry,  would  leave  Knoxville  for  Kentucky  in  a 
few  days  by  way  of  Big  Creek  Gap.  General  Spears  was 
ordered  to  send  a  detachment  of  picked  men,  under  a  brave 
and  resolute  officer.  Four  hundred  men  were  selected  from 
the  brigade  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Jos. 
A.  Cooper,  Sixth  Tennessee  Volunteers.  Colonel  Cooper 
moved  his  command  to  the  north  side  of  the  mountain  early 
on  the  morning  of  September  7,  in  light  marching  order, 
and  at  once  moved  toward  Big  Creek  Gap  as  rapidly  as  the 
nature  of  the  country  would  admit. 

In  going  this  route,  Cooper's  little  army  had  to  cross 
Log  Mountain,  wrhich  was  exceedingly  rough,  but  by  night 
over  half  of  the  distance  had  been  covered.  We  were  mov 
ing  over  almost  the  same  route  taken  by  Spears'  brigade  a 
few  weeks  before  in  the  move  on  Wallace's  Cross  Roads. 
Colonel  Cooper's  command  bivouacked  in  the  mountain,  and 
early  the  next  morning  was  pushed  rapidly  toward  Big  Creek 
Gap,  which  was  not  reached  a  moment  too  soon.  Colonel 
Cooper  had  scarcely  time  to  form  his  men  in  line  of  battle 
before  the  enemy  was  reported  to  be  moving  toward  the  Gap. 
They  were  marching  along  without  an  advance  guard,  chat 
ting  together  unmindful  of  the  fate  that  aw^aited  them,  and 
the  first  intimation  they  had  of  our  presence  was  when  their 
eyes  caught  sight  of  a  line  of  blue  coats  in  line  of  battle 
across  the  road  they  were  moving  upon. 

The  troops  in  front  opened  fire,  while  the  remainder  of 
Cooper's  men  charged  upon  them  from  all  sides,  and  after 
a  short  but  spirited  engagement  the  enemy  surrendered. 
The  Confederates  were  well  mounted  and  splendidly 
equipped,  each  man  being  armed  writh  a  good  double-bar 
reled  shotgun,  revolver  and  saber.  They  were  mounted  on 
magnificent  horses,  while  in  their  ranks  \vere  men  from  dif 
ferent  States.  The  day  was  exceedingly  warm  and  most  of 


GENERAL   .JOSEPH    A.    COOPER 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  43 

the  men  had  taken  off  their  coats  to  avoid  the  heat,  their 
bright  red  shirts  making  good  targets  for  the  boys. 

Out  of  one  hundred  and  nine  men,  only  one  made  his 
escape,  and  he  was  said  to  have  been  wounded.  In  this 
engagement  Colonel  McAfee  and  ninety-five  officers  and 
men  \vere  captured,  while  ten  of  the  enemy  were  left  dead 
upon  the  field,  among  them  an  aide-de-camp  of  General 
Smith  and  two  captains.  Cooper's  men  also  captured  ninety- 
eight  horses  besides  arms  and  equipments.  There  were  no 
casualties  in  Colonel  Cooper's  command,  and  this  was  no 
doubt  due  to  the  admirable  manner  in  which  he  placed  his 
men.  He  returned  to  the  Gap  with  the  prisoners  and  cap 
tured  property,  having  marched  eighty  miles  in  four  days, 
over  mountains  and  hills  and  roads  almost  impassable.  On 
our  return,  General  Morgan  issued  the  following  order, 
which  was  read  to  his  troops  at  dress  parade. 

HEADQUARTERS  FORCES  OE  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Cumberland  Gap,  September  12,  1862. 
GENERAL  ORDER  No.  88. 

The  commanding  General  has  again  the  pleasure  of  announcing 
to  his  troops  the  achievements  of  a  handful  of  their  comrades  at  Big 
Creek  Gap,  on  the  8th  inst.  After  having  blockaded  the  approaches 
to  Big  Creek  Gap,  Colonel  Cooper,  with  a  force  consisting  of  four 
hundred  men  of  the  Third,  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth  Regiments,  Ten 
nessee  Volunteers,  met  and  routed  a  force  of  the  enemy's  cavalry, 
killing  several,  and  captured  ninety-five  prisoners,  eighty-seven  horses 
and  mules,  with  a  quantity  of  arms  and  equipments  and  a  rebel  mail, 
which  was  being  taken  to  Kentucky  on  the  same  day.  Colonel  Cooper 
speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  gallantry  of  his  officers  and  men. 
The  commanding  General  congratulates  the  Tennessee  troops  on  the 
laurels  won  by  their  comrades. 

By  command  of  GENERAL  MORGAN. 

CHAS.  O.  JOLIN,  A.  A.  G. 

It  is  with  pride  and  pleasure  that  the  commanding  General  pub 
lishes  the  above  order.  It  is  a  source  of  pleasure  to  him  to  bestow 
his  thanks  and  praise  upon  Colonel  Cooper  and  the  brave  officers  and 
men  of  his  command,  who  so  gallantly  and  conspicuously  achieved 
the  victory  at  Big  Creek  Gap.  The  commanding  General  gives  them 
all  praise  and  honor. 

By  command  of  GENERAL  SPEARS. 

D.  C.  TREWHITT,  A.  A.  G. 


44  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

In  this  expedition  Captain  Lane,  of  Company  D,  com 
manded  the  detachment  from  the  Fourth  Tennessee.  One 
of  his  lieutenants  was  E.  J.  Cannon,  of  Company  C.  Both 
fell  in  battle  later  on.  The  other  the  writer  is  unable  to 
recall. 

All  this  time  the  rations  were  getting  shorter,  with  no 
prospects  of  a  fresh  supply,  not  even  from  the  country.  Gen 
eral  Morgan  kept  his  troops  busy  during  the  month  they  were 
shut  up  in  the  Gap  in  strengthening  the  fortifications  and 
foraging.  The  Confederates  were  so  close  that  the  foraging 
was  limited  to  the  cornfields  near  the  Gap.  The  subsistence 
consisted  of  half  rations  of  rice  and  beans,  but  our  short 
rations  were  pieced  out  by  green  corn,  the  government  mule 
taking  the  stalks.  The  supply  of  grain  for  the  horses  and 
mules  was  getting  shorter  each  day,  and  to  hold  out  much 
longer  they  would  be  unable  to  haul  off  the  artillery  and 
wagons.  To  hold  out  and  wait  for  starvation  to  force  a  sur 
render  would  give  the  enemy  twelve  thousand  prisoners, 
twenty-six  cannon,  besides  thousands  of  small  arms  and  a 
large  quantity  of  ammunition. 

We  were  now  realizing  the  stern  realities  of  war,  but 
the  boys  were  patient  under  the  circumstances  and  responded 
to  duty  cheerfully.  Before  leaving  the  Gap,  and  for  want  of 
suitable  ammunition,  the  Fourth  Tennessee  exchanged  their 
Austrian  rifles  for  big,  clumsy  Belgian  muskets,  after  which 
the  boys  decided  that  every  man  would  need  a  pack-mule  to 
carry  his  ammunition,  so  large  was  the  calibre  of  this  gun. 

On  the  i Qth  day  of  August,  Morgan  telegraphed  Hal- 
lick  as  follows :  "This  position  shall  not  be  yielded  while  we 
have  a  pound  of  meat  or  an  ounce  of  powder."  There  were 
several  false  alarms  while  Morgan  was  shut  up  in  the  Gap, 
and  when  they  occurred  the  Fourth  Tennessee  would  grab 
their  guns  and  jump  into  the  rifle-pits  just  above  the  road. 
On  several  occasions  the  enemy  moved  up  in  sight  of  the 
Gap  and  made  some  show  of  attack,  but  never  made  the  at 
tempt  during  our  stay.  The  artillery  was  well  posted  and 
being  on  such  a  high  elevation  the  gunners  were  able  to  drop 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  45 

their  shells  with  wonderful  precision.  When  the  enemy  evac 
uated  the  Gap  they  threw  one  of  their  heavy  siege  guns  over 
the  cliff  on  the  left  of  the  Gap.  General  Morgan  set  a  detail 
of  men  to  work  and  in  a  few  days  this  splendid  gun  was  in 
position  and  doing  work  for  "Uncle  Sam."  It  was  a  62- 
pound  rifled  gun,  and  owing  to  its  great  length  the  boys 
called  it  "Long  Tom/'  Every  time  this  gun  was  fired  we 
could  hear  the  huge  shell  passing  through  the  air  high  above 
our  heads,  the  exploding  shell  making  almost  as  much  noise 
as  the  discharge. 

The  future  looked  gloomy  and  dark,  and  no  wonder 
the  men  became  restive  and  often  remarked  to  each  other, 
"Will  we  have  to  surrender,  or  retreat?"  The  men  fully 
understood  the  situation  and  determined  to  do  their  duty. 
Numerous  flags  of  truce  were  sent  by  the  enemy,  demanding 
the  surrender  of  the  Gap,  but  were  not  even  considered  by 
the  commander  of  the  United  States  forces. 


46  ,  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 


CHAPTER  III. 

MORGAN'S  FAMOUS  RETREAT — FATIGUING  MARCH — HARRASSED 
BY  THE  ENEMY — MARCHING  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES — CAMP 
UFE  ON  THE  OHIO CAMP  DENNISON  IN  1 862. 

It  was  only  when  Bragg  invaded  Kentucky  and  com 
pletely  cut  off  all  supplies  that  General  Morgan  determined 
to  withdraw  from  his  stronghold.  On  the  I4th  a  council  of 
war  was  held  at  Morgan's  headquarters  to  determine  the 
advisability  of  the  evacuation  of  Cumberland  Gap,  as  matters 
were  growing  more  serious  every  day.  After  a  lengthy  coun 
cil,  in  which  all  matters  of  importance  were  thoroughly  dis 
cussed  in  detail,  it  was  thought  advisable  by  those  present 
that  the  best  thing  to  do  under  the  existing  circumstances 
would  be  the  evacuation  of  the  Gap. 

Notwithstanding  the  state  of  affairs  at  the  Gap,  the 
troops  received  the  order  to  abandon  the  position  with  con 
siderable  indignation  and  regret,  many  believing  that  the 
place  could  be  held  until  relief  would  reach  them.  All  prop 
erty  that  could  not  be  taken  away  was  to  be  destroyed,  and 
the  next  day  the  destruction  beg#n.  Wagons,  ambulances, 
camp-kettles  and  mess-pans  that  could  not  be  taken  away 
.were  destroyed.  Tents  were  slitted  and  left  standing.  The 
heavy  siege  guns  were  disabled  and  thrown  over  the  cliff. 
All  surplus  guns  and  ammunition  were  thrown  into  the 
magazine  on  the  north  side  and  to  the  left  of  the  Gap.  The 
roads  and  cliffs  were  mined  and  sufficient  powder  placed 
under  each  to  insure  a  complete  blockade  when  the  match 
was  applied.  Great  secrecy  was  required  of  those  engaged 
in  the  execution  of  this  work  in  order  that  the  enemy  might 
be  deceived  as  to  Morgan's  movement  and  his  intention  of 
evacuating  his  position. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  47 

The  wagons  and  a  portion  of  the  artillery  left  on  the 
evening  of  the  i6th,  under  an  infantry  escort,  followed  later 
on  by  the  whole  division.  The  Fourth  Tennessee,  with  the 
remainder  of  the  brigade,  left  its  camp  on  the  Virginia  road 
just  under  the  pinnacle  at  9  p.  m.,  September  17,  and 
marched  through  the  Gap  and  down  the  north  side.  As  we 
passed  through  the  Gap  we  paused  for  a  moment  and,  peer 
ing  through  the  darkness,  took  a  parting  look  at  "our  own 
East  Tennessee,"  which  to  many  it  was  the  last. 

To  the  south  lay  Clinch  Mountain,  along  whose  northern 
base  the  beautiful  river  of  that  name  flows  southwest  and 
enters  the  Tennessee  at  Kingston.  Still  southward  lay  the 
Valley  of  the  Holston,  with  the  winding  stream  of  the  same 
name  flowing  its  entire  length,  while  hill  after  hill  and  valley 
after  valley  greet  the  eye  of  the  soldier  as  well  as  the  trav 
eler.  All  the  discomforts  of  our  present  situation  were  for 
gotten  for  the  moment  as  we  gazed  with  admiration  upon 
this  dark  scene,  marred  by  the  devastating  hands  of  a  cruel 
war.  Indeed,  it  seemed  a  fit  abode  for  the  Goddess  of  Peace 
instead  of  War,  with  all  of  its  horrors. 

It  was  a  sad  and  trying  moment  to  the  Tennessee  troops 
that  were  then  serving  in  Morgan's  division.  The  homes  of 
these  brave  men  who  had  been  driven  away  in  exile  were  to 
some  extent  protected  by  the  presence  of  the  Union  army 
while  at  the  Gap,  were  now  to  be  abandoned  and  left  to  the 
mercy  of  a  hostile  foe.  But  true  to  our  colors  and  without 
complaint  we  turned  our  faces  from  this  beautiful  picture 
and  our  homes,  and  grasping  our  muskets  with  a  firmer  hold 
we  sadly  yet  proudly  marched  through  the  Gap,  with  our 
guns  at  a  "right  shoulder  shift,"  and  started  on  the  ever 
memorable,  ever  famous  retreat  through  the  mountains  of 
Eastern  Kentucky. 

The  night  on  which  the  army  withdrew  was  dark,  con 
sequently  the  descent  was  slow,  difficult  and  dangerous,  and 

*  *  o 

had  the  enemy  boldly  attacked  us  he  could  have  done  much 
harm.  At  the  northern  base  of  the  mountain,  Spears'  brigade 
was  halted  and  formed  in  line  of  battle  across  the  Big  Creek 


48  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Gap  road,  with  a  section  of  Foster's  battery  in  the  intervals 
between  the  regiments.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gallup,  provost- 
marshal  of  the  division,  aided  by  Captain  Patterson,  of  the 
Engineer  Corps,  with  two  hundred  picked  men,  was  en 
trusted  with  the  delicate  and  dangerous  duty  of  holding  the 
enemy  in  check  during  the  night  and  of  firing  the  mines  when 
the  troops  were  all  withdrawn. 

After  the  troops,  artillery  and  wagons  had  reached  the 
foot  of  the  mountain  the  march  was  begun, 'and  soon  the 
long,  dark  lines  of  infantry  and  artillery  were  slowly  moving 
along  the  road  leading  to  Cumberland  Ford.  Just  before 
dawn,  Colonel  Gallup  withdrew  his  pickets  and  ordered  all 
government  buildings  to  be  fired-  on  the  south  side  of  the 
mountain.  The  match  was  then  applied  to  the  fuse  at  the 
mines,  and  immediately  explosion  followed  explosion,  until 
the  grand  old  mountain  was  shaken  from  summit  to  base. 
The  magazine  on  the  north  side  near  the  summit  was  filled 
with  ammunition  and  guns  that  could  not  be  taken  away, 
and  when  the  fire  reached  the  shells  and  boxes  of  ammuni 
tion,  they  too  exploded.  The  explosions  took  place  at  inter 
vals,  and  to  the  marching  troops  it  resembled  a  battle  very 
much. 

The  enemy  approached  the  Gap  when  the  buildings  were 
fired,  but  were  evidently  afraid  of  the  mines  and  magazine, 
which  were  still  belching  fire  and  smoke.  Tons  of  earth  and 
stone  w7ere  thrown  into  the  road  by  the  explosion  of  the 
mines,  so  by  the  time  the  enemy  removed  the  obstructions, 
Morgan's  division  was  several  miles  away. 

When  the  Fourth  Tennessee  reached  Cumberland  River, 
the  forty  rounds  of  ammunition  that  each  man  was  required 
to  carry  seemed  to  have  increased  in  weight  to  forty  pounds. 
The  march  was  continued  throughout  the  night  and  the  fol 
lowing  day,  until  Flat  Lick  was  reached,  twenty-four  miles 
from  Cumberland  Gap.  From  this  point  the  army  moved 
toward  Manchester  on  two  parallel  roads  along  Stinking 
and  Goose  Creeks,  reaching  the  famous  Goose  Creek  salt 
works  late  in  the  evening  of  the  iQth,  where  the  whole 


•:•'.  .. 


TENNESSEE:  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  49 

division  bivouacked  for  the  night.    The  army  was  halted  one 
day  for  rest  and  to  perfect  the  organization  for  the  march. 

At  this  place  the  enemy's  cavalry,  under  that  daring 
raider,  John  H.  Morgan,  now  appeared  for  the  first  time 
upon  our  rear,  and  made  an  attempt  to  capture  a  part  of  our 
train.  Spears'  brigade  was  immediately  ordered  into  line  and 
moved  out  on  the  Flat  Lick  road,  where  it  was  formed  in 
line  of  battle.  Cooper's  Sixth  Tennessee  was  thrown  for 
ward  and  after  a  sharp  skirmish  the  enemy  was  forced  to 
fall  back. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2ist,  the  whole  division  left  camp 
and  moved  through  Manchester  and  toward  Proctor.  Just 
after  leaving  Manchester,  a  soldier  belonging  to  one  of  the 
Kentucky  regiments  was  executed.  While  the  army  lay  at 
Cumberland  Gap  this  soldier  took  the  life  of  one  of  his  com 
rades,  and  for  this  offense  was  convicted  by  courtmartial  and 
sentenced  to  be  shot,  and  as  the  army  was  on  the  march  when 
the  time  arrived  for  the  execution  to  take  place,  no  troops  but 
those  of  his  own  command  were  witnesses  to  this  sad  event. 

The  brigades  of  Baird  and  Carter  moved  by  way  of 
Booneville  and  those  of  Spears  and  De  Courcey  direct  to 
Proctor,  a  small  town  located  on  the  south  side  of  the  Ken 
tucky  river. 

John  H.  Morgan  left  the  rear  of  our  marching  column 
and  by  hard  marching  reached  Proctor  in  advance  of  us, 
burned  a  steam  mill  and,  as  our  advance  approached  the 
place,  stood  ready  to  dispute  our  further  advance  in  that 
direction.  As  the  head  of  the  column  entered  the  town,  Mor 
gan  made  some  show  of  resistance.  A  battery  was  sent  to 
the  front  and  the  Fourth  Tennessee  ordered  forward  as  a 
support,  but  before  a  shot  was  fired  the  enemy  fled  in  haste, 
leaving  the  Seventh  Division  in  possession  of  the  place.  The 
entire  division  moved  to  the  north  side  and  went  into  camp. 
The  Kentucky  river  at  this  place  was  almost  dry. 

The  army  was  now  reaching  that  portion  of  Kentucky 
where  there  was  but  little  to  be  found  along  the  line  of 
march,  and  as  some  of  the  boys  remarked,  "foraging  would 


50  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

not  pay."  However,  from  each  man's  haversack  dangled  a 
grater  made  from  a  tin  plate  or  a  canteen,  and  if  we  were 
lucky  enough  to  find  a  few  small  ears  of  corn  they  would  soon 
be  converted  into  meal,  ready  for  bread  or  mush,  the  prepara 
tion  invariably  being  governed  by  the  existing  circumstances. 

From  Proctor  to  West  Liberty  it  is  sixty-nine  miles,  and 
almost  the  entire  distance  is  nothing  more  than  a  barren 
waste.  Not  a  drop  of  running  water  could  be  found,  and  the 
country  was  so  poor  that  a  crow  in  going  over  this  route 
would  be  compelled  to  "carry  rations."  Every  vessel  and  all 
the  canteens  were  ordered  to  be  filled  with  water  before  leav 
ing  the  Kentucky  river,  and  the  troops  cautioned  against  the 
needless  waste  of  water,  the  inhabitants  telling  us  the  next 
running  water  we  would  see  on  this  route  would  be  the  Lick 
ing  river,  seventy  miles  away. 

The  Fourth  Tennessee  left  Proctor  late  in  the  afternoon 
with  the  remainder  of  the  division  for  Hazel  Green,  by  way 
of  Compton,  and  marched  all  night  to  avoid  the  heat  and 
dust.  Throughout  the  night  the  weary  and  hungry  troops 
kept  tramping  along  the  dusty  road.  Every  now  and  then  the 
monotony  was  broken  by  "Tramp,  tramp,  the  boys  are 
marching,"  or  "Rally  ''round  the  flag,"  in  which  all  would 
join  in  the  chorus,  making  the  wooded  road  ring  with  these 
grand  old  songs.  The  enemy's  cavalry  hung  upon  our  flanks 
and  rear,  picking  up  all  stragglers  and  "played-out"  soldiers. 
A  short  halt  was  made  at  Hazel  Green  to  rest  the  troops. 
On  the  march  to  this  place  we  were  greatly  annoyed  by  the 
enemy  by  his  repeated  attacks  upon  our  rear-guard  and 
flanks. 

From  two  officers  captured  at  Hazel  Green,  the  Union 
commander  learned  that  Humphrey  Marshall  and  E.  K. 
Smith  were  trying  to  unite  their  forces  at  West  Liberty  be 
fore  he  could  reach  the  latter  place.  In  order  to  delay  the 
inarch  of  Morgan's  division  as  much  as  possible,  the  enemy 
moved  to  the  front  and  began  to  blockade  the  almost  im 
passable  roads  that  wound  serpent-like  through  the  ridges 
and  deep  defiles.  About  half  way  between  Hazel  Green  and 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  51 

West  Liberty,  the  enemy  was  encountered  in  one  of  these 
deep  defiles,  called  Cracker's  Neck,  but  was  driven  out  after 
a  brisk  engagement  by  the  Thirty-third  Indiana,  Fourth  and 
Sixth  Tennessee  Volunteers  and  Foster's  battery.  The  na 
tives  no  doubt  realized  for  the  first  time  what  real  war  was 
when  they  heard  the  keen  crack  of  the  rifle  and  the  still 
louder  bellowing  of  the  cannon  as  the  sound  was  echoed  and 
re-echoed  from  hill  to  hill. 

After  this  little  "set-to"  the  army  moved  without  fur 
ther  interruption  to  West  Liberty,  where  a  halt  was  made 
for  one  day,  to  rest  and  clean  up.  West  Liberty  is  a  small 
place,  the  county  seat  of  Morgan  county,  and  is  situated  on 
the  north  bank  of  Licking  River.  At  this  place  Morgan 
expected  to  encounter  Smith  and  Marshall,  as  he  was  now 
occupying  a  central  position  between  the  two  forces.  It  is 
said  that  Humphrey  Marshall  was  a  very  large  man,  and  as 
large  bodies  move  slowly,  this  may  account  for  his  non- 
arrival  at  West  Liberty  in  time  to  witness  the  parade  of  Mor 
gan's  division  through  town. 

After  a  rest  of  one  day,  the  column  was  again  put  in 
motion  for  Grayson,  forty-eight  miles  from  West  Liberty. 
The  enemy  still  hung  on  the  flanks  and  followed  close  upon 
the  rear  of  the  marching  troops,  and,  being  mounted,  could 
move  rapidly  from  place  to  place.  At  places  the  roads  in 
our  front  were  heavily  obstructed  by  fallen  timber,  and  in 
some  instances  it  was  much  easier  to  construct  a  new  road 
than  to  remove  the  blockade. 

In  General  B.  W.  Duke's  article,  entitled  "Bragg's  Cam 
paign  in  Kentucky,  1862,"  is  made  the  following  mention 
of  Morgan's  famous  retreat:  "On  the  I7th  of  September, 
the  Federal  General,  George  Morgan,  evacuated  Cumberland 
Gap  and  pushed  with  all  possible  dispatch  for  the  Ohio. 
This  released  Stevenson,  who  instantly  followed  with  the 
whole  force  under  his  command.  About  the  same  time, 
General  Humphrey  Marshall  was  entering  Kentucky  from 
Virginia  through  Pound  Gap,  with  about  three  thousand 
men,  and  he  was  directed,  with  the  assistance  of  some  six 


52  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

hundred  cavalry  under  General  John  H.  Morgan,  to  confront 
and  detain  George  Morgan  until  Stevenson  could  overtake 
him  and  force  him  to  battle  in  the  mountains,  surrounded  by 
assailants.  Marshall,  however,  did  not  reach  the  scene  of 
operations  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  programme,  and  Stev 
enson  marched  directly  to  Lexington,  instead  of  pursuing  the 
enemy.  John  H.  Morgan,  with  the  cavalry  detailed  for  that 
purpose,  placed  himself  directly  in  front  of  the  Federal 
column  at  West  Liberty  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  Sep 
tember,  and  was  constantly  engaged  in  skirmishing  with  it 
until  the  evening  of  October  ist.  During  that  time  it 
marched  only  thirty  miles.  October  the  ist,  John  Morgan 
was  ordered  by  General  Smith  to  rejoin  the  army,  and 
George  Morgan  continued  his  march  unmolested." 

At  no  time  on  the  retreat  was  General  Morgan  able  to 
draw  the  daring  raider  into  a  regular  engagement,  his  sole 
object  being  to  annoy  and  hold  Morgan  in  check  until  his 
army  was  overtaken  by  Stevenson.  John  H.  Morgan  left 
Grayson  with  his  army  late  in  the  afternoon  of  October  I, 
and  the  advance  of  the  Union  army  entered  during  the  same 
night.  Here  the  pursuit  ended,  within  twenty-five  miles  of 
the  Ohio  river.  We  found  Little  Sandy  river  dry,  except  a 
few  pools  of  stagnant  water,  and  the  only  way  that  we  man 
aged  to  drink  it  was  by  mixing  it  with  cold  coffee  which  we 
carried  in  our  canteens.  This  the  boys  called  "mixed 
drinks." 

The  next  morning  the  march  was  resumed  and  after  an 
easy  day's  march  the  army  bivouacked  at  Old  Town,  twelve 
miles  from  Grayson.  The  place  bore  the  right  name,  and 
consisted  of  a  blacksmith  shop,  a  store  and  possibly  two  or 
three  dwelling-houses,  which  looked  as  though  they  had  been 
built  ever  since  the  flood.  The  march  was  continued  the  next 
day  and  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  3rd  Morgan's  division 
reached  Greenupsburg,  on  the  Ohio  River,  hungry,  tired  and 
foot-sore.  The  army  had  marched  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  in  sixteen  days,  without  the  loss  of  a  wagon  or  gun, 
and  only  eighty  men  killed,  wounded  and  missing. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  53 

At  this  place  a  bountiful  supply  of  rations  was  issued 
to  the  men,  and  after  a  hearty  supper  the  exhausted  troops 
spread  their  blankets  on  the  ground  near  the  bank  of  the 
Ohio  River  and  lay  down  to  sleep,  with  no  roof  over  them 
but  the  starry  heavens.  No  rain  had  fallen  since  leaving  the 
Gap,  and  the  Kentucky  dust  clung  to  the  men  like  a  brother, 
and  the  appearance  of  Morgan's  little  army  was  forlorn  in 
the  extreme.  The  suffering  of  the  men  on  this  march  was 
very  severe,  having  nothing  to  eat  for  several  days  at  a  time 
excepting  ears  of  corn  plucked  from  the  fields  along  the  line 
of  march.  There  was  but  little  water  to  be  found  along  the 
route  taken  by  Morgan's  army,  and  that  as  a  rule  was  of  a 
very  poor  quality,  consequently  the  troops  were  compelled 
to  quench  their  thirst  from  the  few  stagnant  pools  found 
along  the  road. 

A  great  many  incidents  that  took  place  on  this  retreat 
make  it  famous,  and  one  of  peculiar  interest  and  worthy  of 
remembrance  by  all  who  participated  in  that  long  and  dusty 
tramp  across  the  State  of  Kentucky.  Stevenson  was  in  our 
front  at  Cumberland  Gap,  and  on  the  withdrawal  of  Morgan, 
followed  close  upon  his  heels ;  Kirby  Smith  was  in  our  rear 
near  Lexington,  and  Marshall  up  in  eastern  Kentucky  with 
a  large  force,  while  we  were  closely  followed  by  a  large 
force  of  cavalry  under  John  H.  Morgan,  who  compelled  us 
to  move  in  close  column.  Sometiems  he  was  in  our  front, 
and  sometimes  in  our  rear ;  now  on  the  right  and  then  on  the 
left,  but  always  afraid  to  attack  us.  But  after  a  long  and 
fatiguing  march  of  two  hundred  a,nd  fifty  miles  through  a 
wild,  mountainous  and  unproductive  country,  unfed,  shoe 
less,  ragged  and  covered  with  the  accumulated  dust  of  six 
teen  days,  the  Fourth  Tennessee,  with  the  remainder  of  the 
army,  reached  the  Ohio  River. 

This  well-known  retreat  of  Morgan's  division  forms  one 
of  the  most  interesting  episodes  of  the  war,  and  the  success 
is  the  more  remarkable  when  it  is  known  that  the  men  were 
continually  skirmishing  with  the  enemy  and  were  at  times 
obliged  to  build  new  roads  under  very  trying  and  disadvan- 


54  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

tageous  circumstances  for  the  conveyance  of  the  artillery 
and  wagons.  Several  times  the  troops  marched  the  entire 
day  without  food,  and  one  time  they  were  thirty-four  hours 
without  anything  to  eat  and  almost  a  whole  day  without 
water.  The  writer  recalls  a  feast  his  mess  had  one  night  near 
Hazel  Green.  The  army  had  made  a  hard  day's  march  on 
empty  stomachs,  and  late  in  the  night  a  halt  was  made,  not 
to  prepare  supper,  but  to  rest.  Someone  in  the  writer's  mess 
had  during  the  day  found  a  small  pumpkin — yes,  very  small. 
After  the  campfire  was  lighted,  that  pumpkin  was  divided 
among  eighteen  hungry  men,  and  in  less  time  than  I  can  tell 
it,  that  green  pumpkin  was  suspended  over  the  fire  on 
eighteen  sharp-pointed  sticks,  and  before  getting  heated 
through  was  devoured  without  salt  or  any  other  ingredient 
to  make  it  more  palatable. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th,  the  Fourth  Tennessee,  with 
the  remainder  of  the  division,  marched  down  the  south  bank 
of  the  river  about  four  miles,  where  it  was  taken  across  in 
boats.  From  this  point  the  march  was  continued  down  the 
north  side,  through  Wheelersburg  to  Sciotoville,  where  the 
regiment  bivouacked  for  the  night.  We  were  now  in  a  loyal 
State,  and  were  kindly  and  enthusiastically  received  by  the 
patriotic  people  of  Ohio,  and  especially  the  Tennessee  boys. 
On  the  6th,  the  regiment  went  by  rail  to  Portland.  The 
distance  was  short,  yet  it  was  much  preferable  to  marching, 
and  gave  us  a  chance  to  rest  our  bruised  and  blistered  feet. 
From  Portland  the  army  was  moved  a  short  distance  east  to 
a  place  called  Oak  Hill.  Here  we  were  kindly  received  by 
the  people,  whose  cordial  welcome  soon  made  us  forget  the 
hardships  of  the  retreat. 

While  at  this  camp,  the  men  had  time  to  think  over  and 
reflect  upon  the  exciting  scenes  through  which  they  had  just 
passed.  At  the  Gap  and  on  the  retreat  we  were  completely 
cut  off  from  the  authorities  at  Washington,  as  well  as  friends 
at  home.  No  letters,  no  newspapers  or  information  as  to 
our  condition,  could  be  sent  or  received.  Our  friends  be 
came  uneasy,  as  we  were  strangers  in  a  strange  land;  but 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  55 

when  we  finally  got  out  of  the  "wilderness,"  what  a  vast 
amount  of  news  was  unfolded  to  us ! 

The  following  telegrams  will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of 
how  hard  the  Confederates  tried  to  capture  Morgan  and  his 

men : 

LEXINGTON,  KY.,  September  19,  1862. 
LIEUT.  E.  CUNNINGHAM  to  COL.  JOHN  H.  MORGAN: 

Heth  was  ordered  in  pursuit  of  Gen.  G.  W.  Morgan,  and  to  de 
stroy  all  the  mills  and  grain  at  Manchester. 

RICHMOND,  VA.,  September  19,  1862. 
SECRETARY  OF  WAR  to  GENERAL  JONES  : 

The  enemy  have  left  Cumberland  Gap,  pursued  by  Stevenson. 

LEXINGTON,  KY.,  September  24,  1862. 
GEN.  KIRBY  SMITH  to  GEN.  STEVENSON  :    Push  Morgan. 

LEXINGTON,  KY.,  September  25,  1862. 
GEN.  KIRBY  SMITH  to  GEN.  BRAGG  : 

I  have  ordered  my  entire  force  to  Mt.  Sterling  to  try  to  inter 
cept  Gen.  Morgan. 

The  camp  of  the  Fourth  Tennessee  was  in  a  grove  of 
timber,  and  while  at  this  place  a  new  outfit  of  clothing  was 
issued  to  the  men,  the  old  ones  and  their  inhabitants  being 
consigned  to  the  flames.  Before  leaving  this  camp,  a  great 
feast  was  given  us  by  the  loyal  and  patriotic  citizens  of  Oak 
Hill  and  vicinity,  and  our  wants,  which  were  many  and 
various,  were  soon  all  supplied.  Roast  beef,  boiled  ham, 
baked  turkey  and  chicken,  bread,  cakes,  pies  and  other  things 
in  tempting  profusion  were  piled  on  long,  parallel  rows  of 
tables,  and  at  a  given  signal  the  hungry  men  of  Morgan's 
command  moved  forward  in  splendid  order  and  took  pos 
session.  After  satisfying  their  craving  stomachs,  the  differ 
ent  regiments  were  marched  back  to  camp.  This  act  of  kind 
ness  will  long  be  remembered  by  the  men  composing  the 
Fourth  Tennessee,  and  will  be  treasured  up  as  one  of  the 
pleasant  memories  of  Camp  Oak  Hill. 

After  a  stay  of  two  weeks,  resting  and  cleaning  up,  the 
Fourth  Tennessee  and  the  remainder  of  the  brigade  broke 
camp  and  marched  to  Gallipolis,  where  it  camped  for  the 
night.  The  next  morning  the  brigade  was  marched  some 


56  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

three  miles  north  of  Gallipolis,  on  the  Point  Pleasant  road, 
where  a  camp  was  established  near  the  Ohio  River.  It  was 
still  dry  and  dusty,  but  in  this  latitude  the  nights  were  get 
ting  quite  cool. 

When  Morgan's  army  evacuated  Cumberland  Gap,  all 
the  tents  were  destroyed,  and  up  to  this  time  his  troops  were 
still  without  tents.  There  was  plenty  of  rations  for  the 
troops  and  forage  for  the  horses  and  mules,  but  wood  was 
issued  in  such  limited  quantity  that  we  were  unable  to  keep 
warm.  Complaint  was  made  through  the  proper  channel 
for  relief,  but  from  some  cause  none  came.  There  were 
plenty  of  good,  dry  rails  near  by,  and  we  concluded  that 
there  would  be  no  harm  in  just  taking  "the  top  rail,"  but 
with  some  of  the  boys  "the  ,top  rail"  lasted  until  the  ground 
was  reached.  This  move  proved  to  be  the  right  one,  for  in 
a  few  days  wood  was  hauled  into  camp  by  the  cord,  and  all 
complaint  ceased,  and  of  course  we  ceased  burning  rails. 
Tents  were  furnished  us,  and  for  the  first  time  in  two  months 
we  enjoyed  the  almost  forgotten  luxury  of  sleeping  in  tents. 
The  regiment  was  in  splendid  condition,  the  men  were 
healthy  and  in  excellent  spirits,  notwithstanding  their  long 
and  fatiguing  march  from  Cumberland  Gap,  and  at  that  time 
numbered  seven  hundred  and  forty-eight  men. 

While  at  this  place,  a  welcome  visitor  appeared  in  our 
camp  in  the  person  of  one  of  "Uncle  Sam's"  paymasters. 
The  Fourth  Tennessee  drew  its  first  money  from  the  gov 
ernment  it  was  so  faithfully  serving.  There  were  six  months' 
pay  due  the  regiment,  and  after  this  event  new,  crisp  green 
back  bills  and  fractional  currency  were  plentiful  in  camp — 
and  of  course  the  sutler  was  as  happy  as  the  boys  were,  for 
a  large  portion  of  their  hard  earnings  was  due  him. 

Company  and  battalion  drills,  dress  parades  and  reviews, 
which  were  unknown  on  the  retreat,  were  now  revived,  and 
all  the  extra  time  was  spent  in  reviewing  the  early  lessons 
of  the  regiment  in  "Hardee's  tactics."  The  weather,  which 
up  to  the  middle  of  the  month  had  been  dry  and  warm,  now 
changed  to  cold,  and  on  the  26th  snow  fell  to  the  depth  of 


ARMY    HARD   TACK 


TAKING    THE   TOP   KAIL 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  57 

about  four  inches,  which  whitened  up  old  Mother  Earth  and 
gave  everything  a  wintery  appearance.  Part  of  Morgan's 
division  had  already  gone  up  the  Kanawha  Valley  as  far  as 
Charleston,  West  Virginia,  and  the  Twenty-fifth  Brigade  was 
expecting  marching  orders  at  any  moment. 

The  Fourth  Tennessee  performed  its  last  service  at  this 
place  as  a  "flat-footed"  infantry  regiment — as  will  be  seen 
by  the  following  order — as  Colonel  Johnson  had  received 
orders  to  take  his  regiment  to  Camp  Dennison,  Ohio,  for 
the  purpose  of  being  mounted  and  equipped  for  the  cavalry 
service.  The  Fourth  Tennessee  was  soon  to  part  from  and 
lose  the  companionship  of  the  Third,  Fifth  and  Sixth  Ten 
nessee  Volunteers,  composing  the  Twenty-fifth  Brigade,  of 
which  Johnson's  Fourth  Tennessee  had  been  a  member  ever 
since  the  organization  of  the  brigade,  before  the  capture  of 
Cumberland  Gap.  The  regiment  had  passed  through  the 
Cumberland  Gap  campaign,  had  marched  and  fought  around 
this  great  stronghold,  had  shared  alike  the  dangers  and  hard 
ships  of  the  march  and  the  retreat  through  the  hills  and 
mountains  of  Kentucky,  and  now,  in  the  golden  month  of 
October,  we  were  to  part  and  prepare  for  a  new  service. 

The  Fourth  Tennessee  left  camp  and  marched  back  to 
Portland.  At  this  place  a  sad  accident  happened.  Robert 
Howell,  quartermaster  of  the  regiment,  was  thrown  from  a 
buggy  and  killed.  From  this  place  the  regiment  proceeded 
by  rail  to  Camp  Dennison,  by  way  of  Hamden  and  Chilli- 
cothe.  Nothing  of  special  interest  occurred  while  en  route 
to  our  destination  except  the  loss  of  a  few  hats.  The  train 
bearing  the  regiment  reached  Camp  Dennison  in  the  after 
part  of  the  night,  and  the  men  immediately  left  the  cars  and 
lay  down  near  the  track  and  slept  until  daylight. 

The  next  morning  the  sound  of  the  bugles  and  the  rattle 
of  drums  were  heard  all  over  the  camp.  Colonel  Johnson  re 
ported  to  the  commander  of  Camp  Dennison,  and  by  his 
orders  the  regiment  was  moved  to  the  south  side  of  the  camp 
and  placed  in  the  barracks.  This  camp  is  eighteen  miles  east 
of  Cincinnati,  and  was  named  "Camp  Dennison"  in  honor 


58  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

of  Ohio's  war  Governor — William  Dennison.  It  was  a 
regular  recruiting  camp  for  the  Union  army,  and  thousands 
of  loyal  and  patriotic  citizens  were  converted  into  United 
States  soldiers  at  this  camp.  The  only  regiments  the  writer 
can  recall  that  were  there  at  that  time  were  the  Seventh  Ohio 
Cavalry  and  a  regiment  of  sharp-shooters,  yet  the  barracks 
were  all  full  and  during  drill  hours  infantry,  cavalry  and 
artillery  were  seen  all  over  the  camp,  gojng  through  the  dif 
ferent  evolutions. 

The  buildings  were  all  new  and  provided  with  kitchens, 
mess-halls  and  sleeping-quarters,  and  were  large  enough  to 
accommodate  a  full  company.  One  side  of  the  barracks  was 
used  for  sleeping-quarters  for  the  men,  while  the  other  was 
provided  with  racks  for  the  guns  and  accoutrements.  The 
camp  was  supplied  with  water,  which  was  pumped  from 
the  Little  Miami  River,  a  short  distance  from  camp,  and 
conveyed  in  pipes  to  all  portions  of  the  camp. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  59 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  FOURTH  TENNESSEE  MOUNTED — MUSKETS  TO  CARBINES — 
INCIDENTS  AT  CAMP  DENNISON ORDERED  TO  MURFREES- 

BORO FIRST  SABER  CHARGE — HALF  IN  HOSPITALS — RES 
IGNATION  OF  COLONEL  JOHNSON — REORGANIZATION  OF 
THE  CAVALRY — BROWNLOW  WEARS  THE  EAGLE. 

On  the  first  day  of  November,  1862,  Johnson's  Fourth 
Regiment  Tennessee  Volunteers  ceased  to  exist,  and  the 
long-cherished  hope  of  being  mounted  was  now  about  to 
materialize.  The  regiment  was  recruited  for  the  cavalry 
service,  but  the  very  large  number  of  troops  called  out  early 
in  the  war  had  taxed  the  government  beyond  its  capacity 
to  arm  and  equip  the  troops  for  the  various  branches  of  the 
service.  The  task  of  mounting  and  equipping  a  regiment 
of  cavalry  in  the  early  part  of  the  war  was  one  of  great 
magnitude,  for  at  that  time  but  few  equipments  could  be 
obtained,  and  they  were  generally  of  the  old  pattern.  Prior 
to  1 86 1,  the  government  had  paid  but  little  attention  to  this 
branch  of  the  service,  and  even  as  late  as  1862  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  procure  arms  and  equipments  for  the  cavalry 
regiments  that  were  then  being  organized. 

One  great  mistake  made  by  our  generals  early  in  the 
war  was  in  the  scattered  condition  of  the  cavalry.  Their 
efficiency  was  almost  wholly  destroyed  by  the  dividing  up 
of  regiments  and  brigades  into  such  small  detachments  that 
as  a  rule  they  could  not  accomplish  what  was  expected  of 
them;  but  in  1863-4,  when  the  cavalry  was  organized  into 
brigades,  divisions  and  corps,  like  the  infantry,  and  com 
petent  commanders,  such  as  Sheridan,  Custer,  Stoneman, 
Wilson,  Stanley,  McCook  and  Hatch,  placed  in  command, 
we  find  them  doing  deadly  work  on  such  bloody  battle- 


60  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

fields  as  Cedar  Creek,  Gettysburg,  Chickamauga,  Franklin, 
Nashville  and  scores  of  other  hard-fought  battles,  where  the 
cavalry  guidons  were  seen  fluttering  in  the  breeze  amid  shot 
and  shell. 

The  First  Tennessee  had  been  serving  as  an  infantry 
regiment  for  eight  months,  but  on  the  first  of  November  it 
exchanged  muskets  for  carbines  and  was  regularly  mus 
tered  as  the  First  Regiment  Tennessee  Volunteer  Cavalry 
by  Robert  S.  Smith,  Lieutenant  Second  United  States  Cav 
alry.  The  First  Tennessee  was  now  recruited  up  to  a  war 
standard  for  a  cavalry  regiment.  When  the  report  reached 
East  Tennessee  that  Johnson's  regiment  was  to  be  mounted, 
recruits  came  in  rapidly,  and  soon  L  and  M,  the  two  new 
companies,  and  the  ten  old  ones,  were  full.  The  following 
are  the  original  line  officers  of  the  two  new  companies,  or 
ganized  at  Camp  Dennison : 

COMPANY  L. 

Captain,  James  E.  Colville;  First  Lieutenant,  J.  N.  B.  Lusk; 
Second  Lieutenant,  Moses  Wiley. 

COMPANY  M. 

Captain,  Joseph  A.  Collins;  First  Lieutenant,  Samuel  Lane; 
Second  Lieutenant,  Geo.  T.  Harris. 

The  First  Tennessee  began  the  cavalry  drill  under  the 
able  instructions  of  Captain  Hunter,  of  Company  A,  who 
was  appointed  drill-master  of  the  regiment.  The  men  were 
required  to  drill  six  hours  each  day,  while  the  commissioned 
and  non-commissioned  officers  were  put  through  an  extra 
number  of  hours  mornings  and  afternoons.  Julius  E. 
Thomas,  of  Company  F,  was  appointed  chief  bugler  of  the 
regiment,  with  one  man  from  each  of  the  twelve  companies 
for  company  bugler,  and  the  tr-r-r-r-rat,  tr-rat-tat,  tr-rat-a- 
tat-tat  of  the  drums  was  sweet  music  compared  with  the 
horrid,  sound  from  all  the  blare  of  bugles  as  they  took  up  the 
cavalry  calls,  as  follows :  reveille,  roll-call,  stable-call,  sick- 
call,  drill-call,  officers '-call,  retreat  and  taps  or  lights  out — 
yet  musical  when  distance  lends  enchantment. 

A  detail  wras  made  and  sent  to  Camp  Monroe,  a  short 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  61 

distance  north  of  Camp  Demiison,  for  horses  and  wagons 
for  the  regiment.  The  horses  were  all  hitched  to  long  lines 
of  "picket-rope,"  and  then  came  the  difficult  task  of  select 
ing  and  placing  the  different  colors  together  for  the  twelve 
companies,  no  two  colors  to  be  the  same.  The  "color  com 
pany" — C — was  to  have  the  first  choice,  and  the  men  selected 
the  black  horses,  and,  strange  to  say,  they  proved  to  be  the 
sorriest  of  the  lot.  Company  D  drew  the  grays,  the  best  and 
hardiest.  Saddles,  bridles,  halters,  curry-combs  and  brushes 
were  provided  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  when  stable-call 
was  sounded  each  man  was  expected  to  repair  to  the  stable, 
feed  and  groom  his  horse.  The  following  lines  are  sug 
gestive  of  the  duty  and  the  consequences  of  non-compliance : 

"Come  all  that  are  able  and  go  to  the  stable, 

And  curry  and  feed  your  horses  well, 
For  if  you  don't  do  it,  the  Colonel  will  know  it, 
And  he  will  give  you  particular ." 

Camp  Dennison  presented  a  lively  and  warlike  appear 
ance  in  the  autumn  of  1862.  Cavalry,  infantry  and  artillery, 
fully  equipped,  were  to  be  seen  on  every  hand,  drilling  at 
the  same  time.  The  First  Tennessee  began  the  cavalry  drill, 
mounted,  as  soon  as  saddles  and  bridles  were  provided,  for 
the  horses  required  training  as  well  as  the  men,  in  wheeling, 
marching,  trotting  and  charging.  Fretful  and  unruly  horses 
had  to  get  accustomed  to  the  jam  and  pressure  in  wheeling 
and  the  excitement  of  the  charge.  Wild  and  unruly  horses 
"cut  terrible  capers"  when  the  regiment  was  firing  mounted, 
and  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  trooper  tumbled 
headlong  to  the  ground,  sometimes  badly  hurt.  But  awk 
ward  horses  were  soon  broken,  and  by  constant  practice  the 
First  Tennessee  was  soon  brought  up  to  a  degree  of  pro 
ficiency  that  well  fitted  it  for  the  field. 

New  suits  of  blue  uniforms,  trimmed  in  yellow,  hats 
ornamented  with  feathers,  and  a  brass  bugle  or  cross-sabers 
were  issued,  and  when  a  comrade  from  some  other  command 
asked  what  regiment  we  belonged  to,  the  polite  answer  was 
invariably,  "Same  old  regiment,  only  got  new  clothes."  The 


62  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

regiment  was  well  armed  and  equipped.  Every  man,  in  ad 
dition  to  a  breech-loading  carbine,  carried  a  revolver  and  a 
light  cavalry  saber,  each  trooper  being  a  whole  arsenal  in 
himself.  The  First  Tennessee  was  composed  of  hardy  East 
Tennesseans  who  had  been  driven  from  their  homes,  and 
were  patiently  awaiting  the  time  when  they  could  proudly 
follow  the  "old  flag"  back  to  Tennessee.  The  troops  en 
joyed  the  best  of  health  at  Camp  Dennison,  and  with  full 
rations  the  men  recruited  up  and  almost  forgot  the  long  and 
fatiguing  march  from  Cumberland  Gap  through  the  moun 
tains  of  Eastern  Kentucky. 

While  the  regiment  lay  at  Camp  Dennison,  several 
changes  took  place  in  the  way  of  resignations  and  promo 
tions.  The  following  officers  tendered  their  resignations: 
Major  James  O.  Berry  and  Surgeon  P.  W.  Logan.  Captain 
M.  T.  Burkhart,  Company  C,  \vas  promoted  to  Eirst  Major; 
W.  R.  Tracy  was  elected  Second  Major;  John  S.  Jones  was 
prompted  to  Surgeon,  and  James  H.  Jones  to  First  Assistant 
Surgeon;  Adjutant,  Chas.  H.  Bentley;  Quartermaster,  John 
H.  James ;  Commissary,  Isaac  B.  Self,  of  Greeneville. 

The  following  non-commissioned  staff  officers  were  ap 
pointed  by  Colonel  Johnson :  Quartermaster  Sergeant, 
Daniel  S.  Fox,  of  Company  H ;  Commissary  Sergeant,  Wm. 
F.  Self,  of  Company  I;  Hospital  Steward,  Oliver  O'Neal, 
of  Company  D ;  Chief  Bugler,  Julius  E.  Thomas,  of  Com 
pany  F;  Saddle  Sergeant,  Wm.  P.  Liford,  of  Company  G; 
Wagonmaster,  W.  J.  Bise,  of  Company  C ;  Regimental  Post 
master,  D.  A.  Brooks,  of  Company  C. 

The  promotion  of  Captain  Burkhart,  Company  C,  to 
Major,  left  a  vacancy  which  was  rilled  by  the  promotion  of 
First  Lieutenant  E.  J.  Cannon.  Second  Lieutenant  J.  K. 
Jones  was  promoted  to  First  Lieutenant,  and  First  Sergeant 
John  Roberts  was  promoted  to  Second  Lieutenant.  The 
writer,  who  had  been  elected  First  Corporal  of  Company  C 
at  its  organization,  was  promoted  to  Sergeant.  There  was 
a  general  ' 'advance"  all  around,  caused  by  the  promotion  of 
Captain  Burkhart  to  Major. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  63 

The  First  Tennessee  kept  up  its  drill  at  Camp  Dennison 
until  the  24th  day  of  December,  1862.  On  the  26th,  General 
Rosecrans  ordered  his  army  to  advance  from  Nashville  to 
Murfreesboro,  the  latter  place  being  held  by  Bragg.  At  the 
same  time,  John  H.  Morgan  was  sent  by  Bragg  into  Ken 
tucky  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  General  Rosecran's  com 
munications.  This  unexpected  movement  of  Morgan  along 
the  Louisville  &  Nashville  railroad  made  it  necessary  for 
the  hurrying  forward  of  all  the  troops  at  Camp  Dennison  to 
protect  the  road  that  was  supplying  Rosecrans'  army.  Col 
onel  Johnson  received  orders  on  the  24th  to  move  his  regi 
ment  the  next  day  to  Louisville,  by  way  of  Cincinnati. 

The  comfortable  barracks  that  the  First  Tennessee  had 
been  enjoying  for  two  months  at  Camp  Dennison  were  now 
to  be  abandoned  for  the  tented  field  almost  in  mid-winter, 
but  the  thought  of  returning  to  the  old  "Volunteer  State"  so 
thrilled  the  men  that  they  could  hardly  wait  for  the  order 
to  march.  Christmas  eve  was  spent  in  packing  up  for  the 
march  to  Cincinnati.  The  First  Tennessee  marched  out 
from  Camp  Dennison  on  the  24th,  with  1,260  men  in  line — 
said  to  be  the  largest  regiment  that  ever  left  that  noted 
camp. 

The  regiment  marched  direct  to  Cincinnati,  eighteen 
miles  distant,  and  there  embarked  on  government  transports 
for  Louisville.  The  streets  along  the  line  of  march  were 
crowded  with  soldiers  and  citizens,  who  gave  us  a  royal 
greeting.  This  embarkation  will  long  be  remembered  by 
the  members  of  the  First  Tennessee  Cavalry  for  its  exciting 
scenes,  as  well  as  novel.  The  transports  lay  along  the  bank 
of  the  Ohio  River,  with  their  gang-ways  thrown  out,  and 
then  came  the  "tug  of  war,"  coaxing  and  pulling  horses  and 
mules  along  the  narrow  gang-planks  to  the  boats.  Occasion 
ally  a  horse  or  a  mule  would  become  unruly  and  back  off  the 
treacherous  walk  and  fall  into  the  chilly  water — sometimes 
feet  foremost,  sometimes  feet  uppermost.  Whistles  were 
blowing,  bells  ringing,  officers  and  men  yelling  and  shouting, 
as  the  process  of  loading  went  on.  By  9  p.  m.  the  task 


64  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

of  loading  was  completed,  and  we  all  lay  down  beneath  the 
twinkling  stars  and  were  soon  fast  asleep. 

The  following  day  was  our  first  ''Merry  Christmas" 
spent  in  the  army,  consequently  the  boys  were  up  early  to 
view  the  sights,  which  were  constantly  changing.  Splendid 
farms,  with  their  cozy-looking  cottages,  beautiful  villages, 
with  now  and  then  a  passing  steamer  with  its  deep,  bass 
whistle,  were  seen  as  we  glided  down  the  Ohio.  The  trans 
ports  carrying  the  regiment  were  rocking  and  quivering 
under  a  full  head  of  steam,  while  from  the  huge  stacks 
clouds  of  smoke  were  rolled  and  tossed  by  the  morning 
breeze. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  transports  reached  Louisville 
without  accident,  and  the  men  were  glad  enough  to  once 
more  press  "Mother  Earth."  The  camp  selected  was  near 
the  fair-grounds  on  the  N.,  C.  &  St.  L.  road.  On  reaching 
Louisville  we  found  that  it  was  exceedingly  cold,  with  driv 
ing  storms  of  rain  and  snow,  making  soldiering  very  un 
pleasant. 

Morgan  had  moved  north  as  far  as  Elizabethtown,  de 
stroying  on  the  way  bridges,  trestles  and  depots,  capturing 
the  garrisons  at  Muldraugh's  Hill  and  Elizabethtown,  and 
was  still  moving  toward  Louisville.  Thirty  miles  south,  the 
Louisville  &  Nashville  railroad  crosses  Salt  River,  and  evi 
dently  Morgan  intended  to  destroy  this  bridge  before  turn 
ing  south.  The  First  Tennessee  was  ordered  to  move  at 
once  to  Shepardsville,  on  Salt  River,  to  reinforce  the  garri 
son  at  that  place.  We  left  Louisville  at  9  p.  m.,  and  after 
a  very  cold  and  disagreeable  march  reached  Salt  River  at 
daylight.  Morgan  was  so  hotly  pursued  by  the  Union  troops 
that  he  was  unable  to  reach  the  bridge  over  Salt  River,  now 
turned  east  and  at  Rolling  Fork  of  Salt  River  was  overtaken 
and  defeated  by  Harlan's  troops.  Morgan  moved  toward 
Bardstown,  pursued  by  the  Union  cavalry,  and  when  near 
Lebanon  he  was  overtaken  and  roughly  handled.  He  now 
turned  south  and  left  the  State,  having  done  considerable 
damage,  but  suffered  heavy  loss. 


jjat  -su  'j 


FIRST   LTEUTEXANT   A.    J.   GAHAGAN,   COMPANY    D 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  65 

The  First  Tennessee  was  ordered  to  return  to  Louisville, 
where  it  remained  for  two  weeks,  scouting  extensively  dur 
ing  bitter  cold  weather.  Shortly  after  General  Morgan  was 
driven  out  of  Kentucky,  Colonel  Johnson  was  ordered  to 
move  his  regiment  to  Nashville.  This  order  was  the  cause 
of  great  rejoicing  in  the  ranks  of  the  First  Tennessee,  and 
was  cheerfully  obeyed,  as  the  regiment  \vould  now  have  an 
opportunity  of  proudly  marching  through  the  streets  of  the 
capital  city.  The  First  Tennessee  left  a  considerable  num 
ber  sick  in  the  hospitals  when  it  left  Louisville,  and  this 
sickness,  which  owed  its  origin  to  hardship  and  exposure, 
was  also  increased  in  severity  from  want  of  proper  drainage 
at  "Camp  Oakland,"  the  name  of  the  camp  where  the  regi 
ment  lay. 

On  the  Qth  day  of  January,  1863,  the  First  Tennessee 
broke  camp  and  marched  through  Louisville,  taking  the 
Bardstown  turnpike.  The  day  was  cloudy  and  threatening, 
but  not  very  cold.  In  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  a  drizzling 
rain  commenced  falling,  making  marching  very  unpleasant, 
and  as  night  approached  it  began  to  turn  cold.  The  First 
Tennessee  reached  Bardstown  about  8  p.  m.,  and  went  into 
camp  in  the  fair-ground,  which  proved  to  be  a  great  blessing 
to  the  men  and  horses,  for  during  the  night  a  terrible  snow 
storm  set  in  and  raged  for  twenty-four  hours,  the  snow  fall 
ing  to  a  depth  of  twenty-six  inches.  The  regiment  was  com 
pelled  to  lay  up  four  or  five  days  to  allow  the  "scorching" 
rays  of  a  winter  sun  to  melt  the  snow  so  the  march  could  be 
resumed. 

From  Bardstown,  the  First  Tennessee  marched  to 
Mumfordsville,  which  place  it  reached  the  iQth,  where  it 
crossed  Green  River.  All  the  bridges  along  the  line  of 'march 
had  been  burned  by  Morgan  only  a  few  weeks  before  when 
he  made  his  raid  along  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  railroad. 
Resuming  the  march,  the  regiment  moved  on  to  Glasgow 
and  bivouacked  for  the  night.  Moved  early  the  next  morn 
ing  and  at  12  '.30  p.  m.  crossed  the  State  line,  where  Colonel 
Johnson  made  a  short  address,  after  which  we  marched 


66  HISTORY  OF  I'IRST  REGIMENT 

through  Scottsville  and  Gallatin,  reaching  Nashville  on  the€ 
1 7th,  and  went  into  a  camp  already  prepared  for  the  regi 
ment  about  one  mile  north  of  the  city. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Colonel  of  the  First  Ten 
nessee  was  a  son  of  Andrew  Johnson,  then  military  governor 
of  Tennessee,  and  when  he  learned  that  his  son's  regiment 
was  on  the  way  to  Nashville,  he  had  new  tents  put  up  for  the 
officers  and  men,  with  a  bountiful  supply  of  clean  straw  in 
each  one,  picket-ropes  stretched,  and  plenty  of  wood  for 
cooking  purposes ;  in  fact,  nothing  was  left  undone  that 
would  add  to  the  comfort  of  the  men.  On  reaching  Nash 
ville,  we  found  the  weather  cold  and  disagreeable,  and  the 
boys  certainly  did  enjoy  and  appreciate  this  very  kind  and 
thoughtful  act  of  Governor  Johnson. 

Nashville  presented  a  busy  and  warlike  scene  at  that 
time,  it  being  a  very  important  distributing  point  for  the 
army.  The  "old  flag"  proudly  floated  from  the  dome  of  the 
capitol  of  Tennessee,  while  from  the  frowning  forts  the 
great,  black-throated  "dogs  of  war"  peeped  through  the  em 
brasures,  indicating  safety  to  the  city.  Troops  hurrying  to 
the  front,  ambulances,  army  wagons,  carriages  and  the  clat 
ter  of  hoofs,  jingling  of  sabers,  the  dash  of  aides  and  order 
lies,  combined  to  make  it  one  of  the  liveliest  cities  in  all  the 
land. 

After  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  General  Bragg's  army 
fell  back  and  took  up  a  strong  position  north  of  Duck  River, 
his  line  extending  from  Sheibyville  to  Manchester,  with  de 
tachments  thrown  forward  to  hold  Hoover's,  Liberty's  and 
Guy's '  Gaps,  with  Tullahoma  his  center  and  chief  base  of 
supplies.  Rosecrans'  army  was  encamped  in  and  around 
Murfreesboro,  and  until  the  railroad  to  Nashville  was  put 
in  running  order  all  supplies  were  transported  in  army 
wagons.  Shortly  after  the  occupation  of  Murfreesboro  by 
the  Union  army,  elaborate  and  extensive  forts  and  rifle-pits 
were  laid  out  and  built  on  all  the  high  ground  along  Stone 
River  and  near  the  town,  railroad  and  turnpikes.  These 
defenses  cost  months  of  hard  labor  and  afterwards  furnished 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  67 

a  refuge  for  the  troops  stationed  at  that  point  for  the  pro 
tection  of  supplies  and  communications. 

The  First  Tennessee  during  its  brief  stay  at  Nashville 
was  kept  busy  scouting  in  all  directions.  Before  Franklin 
was  garrisoned  by  the  Union  army,  the  regiment  was  or 
dered  on  the  ist  day  of  February  to  make  a  reconnoissance 
to  Franklin,  eighteen  miles  south  of  Nashville.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Brownlow  marched  the  regiment  toward  Franklin, 
reaching  there  at  dark,  and  at  once  plunged  into  Harpeth 
River  at  an  unknown  ford,  and  in  a  short  time  the  town  was 
alive  with  Yankees.  As  the  sharp  crack  of  the  carbine 
rang  out  on  the  still  night  air,  the  startled  inhabitants 
rushed  to  their  doors  to  learn  the  cause  of  the  firing.  The 
town  was  full  of  Confederate  officers  and  men,  who  had 
come  in  to  spend  the  night — for  near  by  lay  Van  Dorn's 
army — not  thinking  of  a  live  Yankee  being  any  closer  to  their 
camp  than  Nashville.  Colonel  Brownlow,  fearing  that  word 
would  be  sent  to  the  enemy's  camp,  quietly  withdrew  his 
men,  recrossed  the  Harpeth,  and  by  daylight  was  well  on  the 
way  to  Nashville  with  his  regiment  and  prisoners.  Company 
C  mourned  the  loss  of  the  brave  and  noble  Christian  soldier, 
First  Corporal  James  M.  Chanaberry,  who  fell  in  the  streets 
of  Franklin,  a  bullet  having  pierced  his  brain. 

Early  in  February,  the  First  Tennessee  was  ordered  to 
strike  tents  and  march  to  Concord  Church,  on  the  Nolens- 
ville  turnpike,  eleven  miles  southeast  of  Nashville,  where 
the  regiment  was  temporarily  attached  to  General  J.  B. 
Steedman's  division,  Fourteenth  Corps,  at  that  time  the  ex 
treme  right  of  the  Union  army.  In  Steedman's  immediate 
front  lay  a  large  and  well-equipped  force  of  the  enemy's 
cavalry,  under  General  Joe  Wheeler,  one  of  Bragg's  able 
and  trusted  commanders,  and  as  the  First  Tennessee  was 
the  only  cavalry  regiment  in  Steedman's  division,  the  duty 
performed  by  it  was  of  the  severest  kind.  The  regiment 
was  constantly  in  the  saddle  and  on  the  go  night  and  day, 
picketing,  foraging,  scouting  and  skirmishing.  The  writer 
can  scarcely  recall  a  single  night  when  the  entire  regiment 


68  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

was  allowed  to  enjoy  a  night  of  undisturbed  repose,  so  con 
stantly  were  the  enemy  attacking  and  driving  in  the  Union 
outposts. 

General  Steedman's  command  encamped  at  Concord 
Church  until  the  last  of  February,  when  he  was  ordered  by 
Rosecrans  to  move  his  command  to  Triune,  a  distance  of 
ten  miles,  and  entrench  his  camp.  But  before  making  this 
move,  Steedman  ordered  Colonel  Johnson  to  take  his  regi 
ment  and  reconnoitre  the  country  well  beyond  Triune,  and 
in  executing  this  order  the  First  Tennessee  drew  its  first 
blood  with  the  saber.  Four  miles  south  of  Triune,  the  Col 
lege  Grove  turnpike  crosses  Harpeth  River,  a  small  stream, 
but  sufficiently  large  to  obstruct  an  army  advancing  into  an 
enemy's  country. 

The  First  Tennessee,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Brown- 
low,  moved  out  from  camp  at  Concord  Church  and  pushed 
on  through  Triune,  crossing  Harpeth  River  at  night,  and 
moved  through  College  Grove  toward  Chapel  Hill,  finding 
only  small  detachments  of  the  enemy,  which  were  brushed 
out  of  the  way,  and  at  daylight  Colonel  Brownlow  threw  out 
a  strong  rear-guard  and  started  for  camp.  The  return  trip 
was  made  quietly  and  without  serious  opposition  until  the 
regiment  reached  Harpeth  River,  when  the  enemy,  who  were 
concealed  near  the  turnpike,  opened  fire  on  the  rear-guard 
and  at  the  same  time  rushed  upon  the  First  Tennessee  with 
their  well-known  "rebel  yell."  It  seemed  that  the  plan  was 
to  make  the  attack  while  the  regiment  was  crossing  the  river, 
expecting  to  throw  it  into  confusion  and  kill  and  capture  it. 
But  they  were  sadly  disappointed  in  their  plan. 

Notwithstanding  the  suddenness  of  the  attack,  no  symp 
toms  of  panic  were  seen  in  the  ranks  of  the  First  Tennessee. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Brownlow  formed  the  regiment  into  line 
of  battle  and  in  a  few  minutes  a  solid  sheet  of  fire  burst  from 
the  muzzles  of  the  carbines,  as  volley  after  volley  was  poured 
into  their  ranks.  The  enemy  could  not  stand  the  rapid  vol 
leys,  and  began  to  fall  back,  when  Brownlow  ordered  the 
regiment  to  charge  with  saber,  which  it  did  in  gallant  style, 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  69 

and  soon  the  enemy  were  sent  flying,  with  bleeding  heads, 
in  all  directions.  After  driving  the  enemy  back  three  or 
four  miles,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Brownlow  halted  the  regi 
ment,  for  fear  of  being  drawn  into  a  "trap." 

The  First  Tennessee  returned  to  camp  without  further 
molestation,  taking  with  it  about  one  hundred  prisoners, 
most  of  them  being  wounded  with  the  saber,  some  having 
two  and  three  wounds  each.  The  dead  and  badly  wounded 
were  left  on  the  field.  On  returning  to  camp,  General 
Steedman  issued  an  order  congratulating  the  officers  and 
men  of  the  First  Tennessee  for  gallantry  on  the  field.  In 
this  engagement,  the  First  Tennessee  lost  two  men  wounded 
— Sergeant  Joseph  J.  Beal,  of  Company  E,  and  Private  Wm. 
H.  Osmit,  of  Company  L,  the  former  being  severely  wounded 
in  the  left  shoulder.  Qeneral  Steedman  moved  his  entire 
command  to  Triune,  and  went  into  camp  to  the  left  of  the 
turnpike,  where  it  remained  until  the  advance  of  the  army 
in  June. 

Colonel  Josiah  Patterson,  Fourth  Alabama  Cavalry,  has 
this  to  say  of  this  engagement:  "My  regiment  was  often 
pitted  against  Jim  Brownlow's  famous  First  Tennessee  Cav 
alry,  and  numerous  interesting  incidents  were  related  in  ref 
erence  to  these  passages  at  arms.  In  1863,  my  regiment  was 
stationed  near  Triune,  and  Brownlow's  regiment  was  oper 
ating  in  the  same  locality  at  the  same  time.  Both  organiza 
tions  were  game  and  well  equipped,  and  it  was  hard  to  tell 
which  enjoyed  a  fight  the  most.  Colonel  Brownlow  once 
sent  me  word  to  meet  his  regiment  at  Rigg's  Cross  Roads, 
and  he  would  whip  my  regiment  like  h — 1.  We  did  not  meet 
at  that  place,  but  shortly  after  that  my  Lieutenant-Colonel 
took  into  his  head  to  capture  Brownlow's  regiment,  and  for 
this  purpose  entered  into  a  plan  with  two  other  regiments, 
which  were  to  attack  from  the  rear.  Luckily  for  Brownlow, 
he  had  an  infantry  support,  which  our  men  were  ignorant 
of,  and  when  my  regiment  attacked  him  from  the  rear,  it 
got  into  a  hornet's  nest.  Brownlow  ordered  a  charge,  and 
in  less  than  no  time  my  regiment  was  getting  out  of  there 


70  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

in  a  hurrry,  with  the  mountaineers  whacking  at  them  with 
their  sabers  right  and  left.  About  two  hundred  of  my  men 
were  captured  in  this  engagement." 

Colonel  Patterson  is  mistaken  about  an  infantry  sup 
port,  as  no  other  troops  except  the  P^irst  Tennessee  Cavalry 
were  engaged  at  this  place  and  time.  This  charge  was  made 
in  a  blinding  snow-storm. 

To  srive  a  detailed  account  of  all  the  movements  of  the 

o 

regiment  during  its  stay  at  Triune  would  require  too  much 
space,  but  enough  will  be  given  to  convey  to  the  reader  that 
the  First  Tennessee  was  not  idle  during  the  time,  the  long 
list  of  casualties  being  the  best  evidence  of  duty  well  per 
formed. 

After  the  army  had  settled  down  to  camp  life  at  Triune, 
the  First  Tennessee  was  kept  busy  all  the  time  picketing  and 
patrolling  the  country  around  camp,  and  so  vigilant  was 
the  regiment  on  this  outpost  duty  that  not  a  single  surprise 
of  the  Union  camp  occurred.  A  large  force  of  Confederate 
cavalry  was  encamped  at  Chapel  Hill,  fifteen  miles  from 
Triune,  and  from  this  point  the  commander  would  almost 
daily  send  out  detachments  to  attack  our  pickets,  and  to  get 
even  with  them  Colonel  Brownlow  would  often  move  the 
regiment  out  beyond  his  outposts  and  form  it  in  line  of 
battle,  then  take  a  small  detachment  and  quietly  move  in 
their  rear,  and  with  drawn  sabers  charge  into  their  ranks, 
creating  the  wildest  confusion  and  disorder,  often  capturing 
more  prisoners  than  he  had  men. 

Sometimes  Colonel  Brownlow  would  march  his  regi 
ment  out  near  the  enemy's  outposts  and  form  it  in  line  of 
battle,  send  forward  a  company  to  fire  on  their  pickets  and 
arouse  their  camp,  and  keep  them  in  line  of  battle  all  day  in 
anticipation  of  an  attack,  and  at  night  fall  back  and  leave 
them  to  form  their  own  conclusions.  Again,  the  daring 
Colonel  of  the  First  Tennessee  would  move  his  regiment 
close  to  the  enemy's  camp,  drive  in  their  pickets,  and  have 
his  bugler  to  impudently  blow  "boots  and  saddles." 

On  the  gth  of  April,  the  First  Tennessee  was  ordered 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  71 

to  Franklin  to  reinforce  the  garrison,  which  was  threatened 
by  a  large  force  of  cavalry  and  infantry,  under  Van  Dorn 
and  Wheeler.  Reinforcements  were  rapidly  approaching 
Franklin  from  all  directions,  and  Van  Dorn,  having  met  with 
so  much  opposition  and  such  stubborn  resistance  on  his 
approach  to  Franklin,  retreated  without  making  a  general 
attack.  After  a  few  days  of  skirmishing  around  Franklin, 
the  regiment  returned  to  camp  at  Triune. 

There  were  numerous  sharp  engagements  between  the 
First  Tennessee  and  the  enemy,  under  Wheeler  and  Whar- 
ton,  near  our  camp,  in  which  the  regiment  sustained  consid 
erable  loss.  The  names  of  Rigg's  Cross  Roads  and  College 
Grove  are  as  familiar  as  a  household  name  to  the  surviving 
members  of  the  First  Tennessee.  In  the  former  engage 
ment,  April  1 6,  the  regiment  sustained  the  following  loss : 

Killed — Company  I,  Jacob  Mysinger. 

Wounded — Company  D,  William  Riddle ;  Company  C, 
Sergeant  O.  N.  Miller,  John  M.  Harris  and  Robert  Adair. 

The  latter  two  received  three  wounds  each,  which  were 
thought  to  be  mortal,  but,  being  blessed  with  strong  consti 
tutions  and  by  good  nursing,  they  finally  recovered  and  are 
at  this  date  still  living,  but  very  much  shattered  in  health. 

In  the  battle  May  8,  the  killed,  wounded  and  captured 
were  as  follows : 

Killed — Company  C,  Alexander  Blain ;  Company  B, 
James  Dooley. 

Wounded — Company  F,  Sergeant  W.  J.  Randolph ; 
Company  C,  Robert  Hixon,  slightly  wounded  in  left  cheek 
and  captured;  Company  G,  Captain  I.  C.  Leger. 

When  Robert  Hixon  was  captured,  he  had  a  fat  turkey 
strapped  to  his  saddle,  which  he  proposed  to  present  to 
Colonel  Brownlow  when  he  reached  camp.  Wheeler,  find 
ing  this  out,  sent  word  to  Brownlow  that  he  had  one  of  his 
men  and  a  turkey  prisoners,  and  that  he  would  take  good 
care  of  his  man,  but  would  dine  on  his  turkey  that  day  him 
self. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  sickness  and  a  very  large 


72  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

number  of  deaths  in  the  First  Tennessee  while  encamped 
at  Triune,  the  regiment  losing  thirty-one  men  by  death — the 
greatest  number  that  ever  died  at  any  one  camp  during  the 
war.  This  sickness  and  high  death-rate  was  no  doubt  caused 
by  exposure  during  the  cold,  wet  months  of  winter  and 
spring,  as  the  regiment  was  constantly  in  the  saddle  night 
and  day,  taking  the  weather  as  it  came  without  complaint. 

On  May  31,  Colonel  Robert  Johnson  tendered  his  resig 
nation  as  commander  of  the  First  Tennessee,  on  account  of 
ill  health.  He  was  the  first  colonel,  and  by  his  kind  treat 
ment  of  the  officers  and  men  won  their  respect  and  con 
fidence.  Lieutenant-Colonel  James  P.  Brownlow  was  im 
mediately  promoted  to  colonel — a  promotion  he  well  de 
served,  for  he  was  the  real  commander  before  his  promotion 
to  colonel. 

The  country  for  miles  around  Triune  became  very 
familiar  to  the  First  Tennessee  by  its  frequent  visits,  for 
the  regiment  had  scouted  and  marched  along  the  narrow 
country  roads  and  the  splendid  turnpikes  by  night  as  well  as 
by  day.  During  our  stay  at  Triune,  the  regiment  became 
famous  for  dash  and  courage,  and  earned  for  itself  the  name 
of  "the  fighting  First  Tennessee  Cavalry,"  a  name  that  was 
never  disgraced  upon  the  battlefield.  The  First  Tennessee 
was  widely  and  favorably  known,  and  the  soldierly  bearing 
of  the  officers  and  men  in  action  and  their  patient  endurance 
on  the  march  were  frequently  recognized  by  its  com 
manders. 

About  the  middle  of  June  all  of  the  cavalry  in  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland  was  reorganized  by  General  D.  S. 
Stanley,  and  formed  into  a  corps.  In  the  reorganization 
the  First  Tennessee,  Second  Michigan  and  Ninth  Pennsyl 
vania  formed  the  First  Brigade,  the  First  Brigade  forming 
a  part  of  the  First  Division,  with  Colonel  A.  P.  Campbell, 
Second  Michigan,  commanding  the  brigade,  General  R.  B. 
Mitchell  the  division,  and  General  Stanley  the  corps. 

From  now  until  the  forward  movement,  our  time  was 
spent  in  reviews,  inspections  and  drills,  preparatory  for  a 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  73 

general  advance.  Before  leaving  Triune,  the  following  of 
ficers  sent  in  their  resignations :  Majors  M.  T.  Burkhart  and 
Abraham  Hammond.  First  Lieutenant  C.  M.  Dyer,  Com 
pany  H,  was  promoted  to  First  Major,  and  First  Lieutenant 
Russell  Thornburgh,  of  Company  K,  was  promoted  to  Sec 
ond  Major. 

The  large  tents  that  had  protected  us  so  well  during 
the  winter  from  cold  and  rain  were  exchanged  for  shelter- 
tents — "dog-tents"  the  boys  called  them.  Everything  was 
put  in  trim  for  an  active  campaign  and  a  grand  forward 
movement.  In  active  campaigning,  the  soldier  carries  his 
small  tent  (dog)  and  he  and  the  comrade  who  is  his  "part 
ner"  put  the  two  pieces  together,  which  makes  a  comfortable 
protection  from  the  weather.  His  haversack  contains  his 
rations,  while  from  his  belt  or  saddle  clatters  a  small  coffee 
pot  or  pail,  and  in  less  than  a  half-hour  after  a  halt  the 
veteran  knows  how  to  prepare  a  wholesome  meal  of  bacon, 
coffee  and  crackers,  familiarly  known  as  "hard-tack."  This 
new-fangled  tent  was  very  appropriately  named  by  the  boys, 
and  was  little  better  than  no  tent. 


74  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 


CHAPTER  V. 

TULLAHOMA  CAMPAIGN — THE  ADVANCE — GUY'S  GAP — TEN 
THOUSAND  CAVALRY  ON  A  WILD  CHARGE — WHEELER 
FORCED  TO  SWIM  DUCK  RIVER — BRAGG  LEAVES  TENNESSEE 
HISTORIC  CAMP — MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  CAVALRY — CON 
CENTRATION  AT  STEVENSON — PREPARING  FOR  AN  AD 
VANCE. 

On  the  23rd  day  of  June,  the  First  Tennessee  struck 
tents  and  with  the  remainder  of  the  cavalry  moved  out  along* 
the  Eaglesville  turnpike,  encountering  the  enemy  near 
Eaglesville.  After  a  brisk  skirmish,  the  enemy  fell  back 
toward  Rover,  pursued  by  Campbell's  brigade.  The  enemy 
kept  a  battery  on  the  turnpike,  which  annoyed  our  advance 
a  great  deal,  and  when  pressed  too  close  it  limbered  up  and 
moved  to  the  rear.  In  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the 
enemy  made  a  stand  near  Rover,  and  a  sharp  engagement 
ensued,  in  which  they  were  repulsed  and  driven  from  the 
field  in  confusion. 

The  Eirst  Tennessee  was  on  the  right  of  the  line  during- 
the  engagement,  and  after  the  enemy  had  fallen  back,  and 
while  waiting  for  orders  to  advance,  the  enemy  appeared 
upon  the  right  flank  of  the  regiment  and  opened  a  brisk  firer 
followed  by  a  charge  upon  our  line,  but  before  they  reached 
us,  Colonel  Brownlow  changed  front  and  drove  them  back 
in  confusion.  In  this  engagement,  the  First  Tennessee  lost 
two  killed — Reuben  DeBoard,  Company  E,  and  James 
Kirkpatrick,  Company  H.  In  this  action,  Colonel  Brown- 
low's  horse  was  shot  from  under  him. 

Just  here  I  want  to  relate  an  incident  that  occurred 
during  the  wild  charge  of  the  enemy  upon  the  First  Ten 
nessee.  A  single  horseman,  well  mounted,  was  seen  to  leave 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  75 

the  ranks  of  his  friends  and  dash  at  our  line  as  if  he  meant 
to  capture  it.  As  he  passed  the  First  Tennessee,  hundreds 
of  shots  were  fired  at  him,  but  still  he  came  dashing  along, 
and  when  in  front  of  the  Second  Michigan,  they  opened 
fire,  and  still  the  horse  charged  madly  on,  bearing  his  rider, 
who  seemed  to  have  a  charmed  life.  The  firing  ceased,  and 
all  were  amazed  to  think  a  man  could  escape  instant  death 
amid  such  a  shower  of  lead.  At  last  his  wild  charge  ended 
and  the  wonderful  mystery  was  fully  solved.  Both  bridle 
reins  had  been  cut  by  a  bullet  and  his  horse,  in  the  excite 
ment,  refused  to  cease  charging,  and  all  that  the  rider  could 
do  was  to  grasp  the  pommel  of  his  saddle  and  "hang  on" 
while  running  the  gauntlet.  His  clothes  were  perforated 
with  bullets,  his  horse  wounded  in  many  places,  but,  strange 
to  say,  the  man's  body  was  not  touched.  It  is  doubtful  if  he 
breathed  at  all  during  his  charge  on  Campbell's  brigade. 

The  brigade  bivouacked  on  the  field,  and  early  the  next 
morning  the  march  was  resumed,  passing  through  Versailles 
and  on  to  Middleton,  where  Campbell's  brigade  overtook 
the  enemy  and  a  sharp  engagement  ensued  during  a  drench 
ing  rain.  Stanley's  cavalry  was  now  on  the  extreme  right 
of  the  Union  army,  and  had  in  the  two  days  driven  the 
enemy's  cavalry  toward  Guy's  Gap,  on  the  Shelbyville  turn 
pike. 

Heavy  rains  continued  to  fall,  making  all  roads  impass 
able  except  the  turnpikes.  Our  bivouacs  were  indeed  un 
pleasant,  being  in  mud  and  rain,  with  no  covering  save  wet 
blankets  and  ponchos,  but  the  First  Tennessee  had  long 
since  learned  by  hard  experience  that  a  good,  comfortable 
bed  could  be  made  by  placing  two  rails  side  by  side. 

It  was  General  Rosecrans'  plan  to  make  a  strong  dem 
onstration  on  Bragg's  left  with  the  cavalry  and  a  portion  of 
his  infantry,  while  he,  with  the  remainder,  would  make  a 
bold  move  on  Manchester,  compelling  him  to  give  up  his 
strong  position  at  Tullahoma.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the 
27th,  Stanley  moved  his  cavalry  from  Christiana  to  Guy's 
Gap,  followed  by  the  reserve  corps,  under  Grainger.  This 


76  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

part  of  Bragg's  line  was  held  by  Folk's  corps,  with  all  of 
Martin's  and  a  portion  of  Wharton's  division  of  cavalry 
under  Wheeler,  well  posted  in  Guy's  Gap.  Stanley  formed 
his  cavalry  in  line  of  battle  within  one  mile  of  the  Gap  in 
two  lines  division  fronts.  Occasionally  the  sun  would  peep 
through  the  flying  clouds  to  witness  this  great  war  pageant 
of  ten  thousand  cavalry  marching  in  perfect  order  with 
bands  playing  and  colors  flying.  As  the  long  lines  of  blue 
moved  forward  in  line  of  battle,  fields  of  young  growing 
corn  and  the  golden  wheat  ready  for  the  sickle  rapidly  dis 
appeared  under  the  steady  tramp,  tramp  of  thousands  of 
horses. 

A  line  of  skirmishers  was  thrown  out,  and  the  column 
ordered  forward.  The  Confederates,  from  the  crest  of  the 
hill,  could  witness  all  of  our  movements,  and  as  the  ad 
vanced  line  approached,  the  enemy  opened  fire  with  artillery 
and  small  arms,  which  was  answered  from  the  lines  of  blue 
with  Parrott  guns  and  carbines.  At  the  Gap  a  few  scattering 
shots  were  exchanged,  then  all  became  quiet,  the  enemy  hav 
ing  fled  in  hot  haste  to  their  second  and  strongest  line. 
Stanley  moved  his  troops  forward  on  the  trot,  a  battery  was 
wheeled  into  position  in  the  Gap  on  the  Shelbyville  turnpike, 
and  as  the  exploding  shells  were  striking  terror  to  the  re 
treating  Confederates  our  bands  played  "Yankee  Doodle" 
and  "Dixie"  in  grand  style. 

After  a  short  halt,  General  Stanley  ordered  his  victor 
ious  troops  forward  again,  this  time  to  charge  a  line  of  rifle- 
pits  a  short  distance  in  his  front  and  extending  across  the 
turnpike.  The  command  was  deployed  in  line  of  battle,  and 
at  the  order,  "forward  march,"  the  troops  moved  toward 
the  works.  The  sight  was  grand,  as  it  was  rare — cavalry 
about  to  charge,  mounted,  a  line  of  rifle-pits.  "Steady,  men, 
steady !"  was  repeated  along  the  line  as  we  approached  the 
works,  expecting  every  moment  the  dreaded  grape  or  the 
"singing  Minie."  On  we  wrent  and  not  a  shot  was  fired 
except  from  the  skirmish-line,  which  in  the  center  waxed 
warm.  The  line  continued  to  advance  and  still  no  pitiless 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  77 

storm  of  lead  or  screeching  shell  greeted  us.  After  moving 
over  rocks,  through  brush  and  timber,  the  works  were 
reached  and  no  enemy  in  sight,  the  rifle-pits  being  entirely 
deserted. 

General  Stanley  ordered  immediate  pursuit  to  be  made 
with  Minty's  brigade,  Second  Division,  supported  by  Camp 
bell's  brigade,  First  Division,  closely  followed  by  the  whole 
corps.  The  charge  of  Stanley's  ten  thousand  horsemen  was 
a  grand  and  imposing  sight,  and  to  be  seen  was  never  to  be 
forgotten.  The  charge  was  made  in  column  of  fours.  It 
was  seven  miles  to  Shelbyville,  and  the  enemy  were  so  hard 
pressed  that  they  were  unable  to  make  a  stand  and  only  fired 
a  few  shots  from  their  artillery.  More  than  once  on  this 
long  charge  \vere  they  compellel  to  move  their  artillery 
rapidly  to  the  rear  to  prevent  capture. 

At  Shelbyville,  Wheeler  made  a  desperate  attempt  to 
check  the  advance  of  the  Union  cavalry  long  enough  to  allow 
his  artillery  and  men  to  cross  Duck  River,  which  at  that  time 
was  considerably  swollen  by  the  recent  rains.  Wheeler 
placed  a  battery  in  the  public  square  and  opened  fire  on  our 
advance.  There  was  quite  a  brisk  engagement  at  this  point 
between  Minty's  brigade  and  the  advance  of  Wheeler's 
cavalry,  in  which  the  enemy  were  badly  whipped  and  driven 
toward  Duck  River  with  the  loss  of  several  hundred  pris 
oners.  The  fleeing  enemy  were  now  pursued  by  the  brigades 
of  Campbell  and  Minty.  and  at  Duck  River  bridge  three 
guns  and  five  hundred  men  were  captured. 

Hundreds  of  Wheeler's  men,  finding  themselves  cut  off 
from  the  bridge,  their  only  means  of  crossing,  and  being 
hard  pressed,  plunged  into  the  swollen  stream,  where  scores 
were  drowned  in  their  attempt  to  gain  the  opposite  side.  The 
rout  was  so  complete  and  the  flight  so  hurried  that  it  is  said 
General  Wheeler  himself  only  escaped  by  swimming  the 
river. 

While  the  battles  of  Guy's  Gap  and  Shelbyville  do  not 
take  high  rank  as  leading  engagements,  yet  the  achievements 
of  Stanley's  cavalry  on  the  2/th  of  June  were  very  important 


78  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

to  the  success  of  Rosecrans'  movement,  for  the  left  of 
Bragg's  army  was  completely  routed  and  driven  back  over 
ten  miles,  with  severe  loss  in  men  and  artillery.  This  splen 
did  Union  victory  had  a  depressing  effect  on  Wheeler's  cav 
alry,  which  up  to  that  time  were  thought  to  be  invincible. 

Shelbyville  is  a  beautiful  little  town,  located  on  Duck 
River,  and  is  at  the  terminus  of  a  branch  road  that  leaves  the 
Nashville  &  Chattanooga  railroad  at  Wartrace,  and  at  the 
time  of  this  our  first  visit  the  Union  people  of  this  loyal 
town  displayed  hundreds  of  national  flags  from  their  win 
dows  and  house-tops,  that  had  long  been  concealed,  and 
made  the  27th  of  June  seem  like  a  Fourth  of  July. 

After  a  rest  of  two  days,  General  Stanley  set  his  column 
in  motion  for  Manchester  on  the  3Oth.  The  First  Tennessee 
moved  with  the  remainder  of  the  army  over  the  almost  im 
passable  roads,  through  mud  and  rain,  reaching  Manchester 
the  last  clay  of  June.  The  most  of  this  march  was  made  over 
dirt  roads,  and  when  we  reached  the  "barrens,''  the  dividing- 
line  of  the  hills  bordering  on  Cumberland  Mountain  and  the 
fertile  lands  of  Middle  Tennessee,  the  rain  of  the  past  week 
had  made  this  whitish  soil  as  soft  and  spongy  as  a  swamp 
into  which  artillery  and  wagons  cut  to  the  hub.  Even  our 
horses  could  only  pass  over  with  the  greatest  exertion. 

Both  flanks  of  Bragg's  army  being  turned,  he  was  now 
compelled  to  abandon  Tullahoma,  which  he  did  on  the  3Oth, 
and  retreated  toward  Decherd.  On  the  2nd  day  of  July,  we 
left  Manchester  and  moved  through  Estell  Springs,  fording 
Elk  River,  and  moved  on  to  Decherd  and  Cowan,  on  the 
Nashville  &  Chattanooga  railroad,  to  find  that  Bragg  had 
crossed  the  mountain,  and  once  more  Middle  Tennessee  was 
in  possession  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland. 

At  the  crossing  of  Elk  River,  a  very  sad  and  peculiar 
death  occurred  in  Company  C.  The  First  Tennessee  was 
fording  the  river,  which  was  considerably  swollen  by  the 
recent  rain,  and  just  as  Company  C  reached  the  opposite 
bank,  Private  Calvin  Walker  fell  from  his  horse  and  expired 
without  uttering  a  word,  and  opposite  his  name  the  follow 
ing  entry  was  made :  "Died  from  heart  failure." 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  •   79 

When  it  was  learned  that  Bragg  had  crossed  the  moun 
tain,  the  cavalry  returned  to  Decherd  Station.  Nothing  of 
special  interest  occurred  at  this  place  except  a  national  salute 
fired  by  our  batteries  in  honor  of  the  glorious  Fourth.  After 
a  short  rest  at  Decherd  Station,  the  First  Tennessee,  with 
the  remainder  of  the  cavalry,  moved  through  Winchester 
to  Salem,  where  the  regiment  enjoyed  a  few  days  of  rest 
and  recreation. 

In  this  brief  campaign  General  Rosecrans  lost  eighty- 
five  men  killed,  four  hundred  and  eighty-two  wounded,  and 
thirteen  captured.  The  loss  of  killed  and  wounded  in 
Bragg's  army  is  unknown,  but  he  left  behind  him  one  thou 
sand,  six  hundred  and  thirty-four  officers  and  men  as  pris 
oners,  eight  cannon  and  three  siege  guns. 

Before  leaving  Salem,  we  received  the  glorious  news 
of  the  two  great  Union  victories  at  Gettysburg  and  Vicks- 
burg  on  July  4th,  in  honor  of  which  a  national  salute  was 
fired. 

On  the  1 2th,  General  Stanley  again  put  his  cavalry  in 
motion  for  Huntsville,  by  way  of  New  Market,  reaching  the 
former  place  on  the  I4th.  It  was  near  the  latter  place  that 
General  R.  L.  McCook  was  cruelly  and  savagely  murdered 
by  "bushwhackers,"  about  a  year  before.  He  was  riding  at 
the  time  in  an  ambulance,  prostrated  by  sickness,  and  some 
distance  in  advance  of  his  brigade.  On  account  of  this  atro 
cious  act,  all  houses,  out-buildings,  barns  and  fences  were 
entirely  destroyed  near  where  he  was  killed,  making  the 
country  look  desolate. 

Huntsville  is  a  beautiful  little  town,  surrounded  by  rich 
and  fertile  fields,  while  from  its  center  a  large,  magnificent 
spring  furnishes  not  only  the  inhabitants  with  pure,  crystal 
\vater,  but  in  addition  furnishes  the  power  that  forces  the 
water  to  the  people.  Our  stay  at  Huntsville  was  cut  short 
by  an  order  to  move  to  Fayetteville,  camping  for  a  short  time 
north  of  town.  In  a  few  days  the  First  Tennessee,  with 
the  remainder  of  the  division,  struck  tents  and  moved  back 
to  Salem,  by  way  of  Gum  Springs,  going  into  camp  near 


80  •  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Winchester.  This  camp  and  the  incidents  that  happened 
there,  over  thirty-five  years  ago,  are  still  fresh  in  the  mem 
ory  of  the  men  composing  the  First  Division,  and  will  be 
remembered  by  that  gallant  body  of  men  until  the  final  mus 
ter-out. 

General  Mitchell  was  a  rigid  disciplinarian,  and  at  this 
place  he  seemed  to  have  all  the  West  Point  rules  transferred 
to  our  camp,  and,  so  far  as  we  know,  he  enforced  them.  He 
would  have  reveille  sounded  at  3  o'clfcolc  each  morning,  and 
the  sleepy  soldiers  were  compelled  to  get  up  and  put  on  all 
implements  of  war,  saddle  their  horses,  roll  up  overcoats 
and  blankets  and  strap  them  to  their  saddles,  form  in  line 
and  stand  "to  horse"  until  daylight.  When  taps,  or  lights- 
out  was  sounded,  every  light  was  expected  to  be  put  out 
immediately;  in  fact,  some  of  the  boys  declared  that  the 
guard  would  start  on  their  rounds  to  see  that  the  order  was 
strictly  complied  with  before  the  last  sound  of  this  beautiful 
call  had  died  away  in  the  distant  hills.  And  if  a  soldier  was 
found  with  a  light  burning  in  his  tent,  he  was  taken  to  the 
provost-marshal's  headquarters  and  there  either  tied  up  by 
the  thumbs  or  made  to  carry  a  rail  from  three  to  five  hours. 

On  the  march,  no  straggling  was  permitted,  not  even 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  water  to  drink,  and  if  a  soldier 
was  found  away  from  his  command  without  permission,  he 
was  dismounted  and  forced  to  march  the  remainder  of  the 
day  in  the  rear  of  the  army.  But  the  men  learned  that  "the 
way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard,"  and  "the  wages  of  sin  is 
death,"  and  that  when  orders  are  violated  those  who  do  so 
must  suffer  the  consequences.  Three  things  are  necessary 
to  make  good  soldiers.  The  first  thing  is  discipline;  the 
second,  discipline ;  the  third,  discipline ;  and  it  was  not  long 
until  the  boys  fancied  the  three  things  were  subject  to  mul 
tiplication  several  times.  We  were  awakened  by  discipline; 
roll-call,  guard-mounting,  drill,  cooking  beans  and  bacon, 
were  all  done  by  discipline  as  well.  But  one  truthful  thing 
can  be  said  to  the  credit  of  the  First  Tennessee,  and  that  is, 
it  did  not  furnish  any  more  material  for  violations  of  these 
orders  than  other  regiments  of  the  division. 


FIRST    LIEUTENANT    W.  F.  FOWLER,  COMPANY    A 


BADGE   OF   WILSON'S   CAVALRY   CORPS, 

Army  of  the  Cumberland 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  81 

The  last  of  July,  the  division  was  again  ordered  to  re 
turn  to  Fayetteville,  going  into  camp  between  the  Winches 
ter  turnpike  and  Elk  River,  and  just  east  of  the  stone  bridge. 
This  camp  was  in  a  grove  of  magnificent  oak  and  beech 
trees,  whose  spreading  branches  protected  the  troops  from 
the  hot  rays  of  the  sun,  while  old  "Mother  Earth,"  which 
was  richly  carpeted  with  a  soft  coat  of  grass,  made  a  bed 
much  more  preferable  than  the  soft  side  of  two  fence  rails. 
This  was  also  a  historic  camp,  being  the  same  ground  that 
was  used  by  General  Jackson  as  a  rendezvous  for  his  army 
at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Creek  Indians,  in  October, 
1813. 

There  had  been  numerous  outrages  committed  by  the 
Creek  Indians,  and  on  the  3Oth  of  August,  1813,  Weather- 
ford,  a  noted  chief,  led  about  seven  hundred  warriors  against 
Fort  Minims,  which  was  garrisoned  by  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  under  Major  Beasley ;  but,  after  a  brave  and  de 
termined  resistance,  the  fort  was  captured  and  all  the  garri 
son  was  massacred  except  seventeen,  who  made  their  escape. 
All  eyes  were  now  turned  to  Jackson  and  his  faithful  sol 
diers,  who  had  hardly  reached  their  homes  from  a  campaign 
against  the  Indians.  In  his  call  for  five  thousand  militia, 
General  Jackson  said:  "Already  large  bodies  of  hostile 
Creeks  are  marching  to  your  borders,  with  their  scalping- 
knives  unsheathed,  to  butcher  your  women  and  children  r 
time  is  not  to  be  lost.  We  must  hasten  to  the  frontier,  or 
we  shall  find  it  drenched  in  the  blood  of  our  citizens.  The 
health  of  your  general  is  restored — he  will  command  in  per 
son." 

General  Cocke  commanded  the  troops  from  East  Ten 
nessee.  General  Coffee  was  sent  to  Huntsville,  Alabama, 
with  his  mounted  volunteers,  and  on  the  nth  of  October  he 
sent  word  to  Jackson  that  he  was  about  to  be  attacked  by  one 
thousand  Creek  warriors.  This  word  reached  Jackson's 
camp  at  Fayetteville,  and  he  at  once  put  his  army  in  motion 
for  Huntsville,  making  the  entire  distance  of  thirty-two  miles 
in  less  than  five  hours.  General  Jackson  was  a  noted  Indian 


82  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

fighter,  and  his  faithful  militia,  in  the  war  with  the  deluded 
Indians,  won  for  themselves  a  bright  reputation,  making  a 
"Tennessee  rifleman  superior  to  a  Wellington  invincible." 

In  1811,  General  Jackson  was  at  Natchez,  Mississippi, 
on  business,  and  on  his  return  home  he  was  asked  by  an 
agent  of  the  Choctaw  Indians  if  he  had  a  pass,  to  which  he 
replied  with  spirit :  "Yes,  sir ;  I  always  carry  mine  with  me ; 
I  am  a  free-born  American  citizen,  and  that  is  a  passport  all 
over  the  world." 

This  was  a  good  place  to  camp,  for  it  was 

Water  to  the  right  of  you ! 
Corn  to  the  left  of  you  ! 
Fence-rails  in  front  of  you ! 

And  into  this  camp  of  water,  corn  and  fence-rails,  rode  the 
brave  First  Tennessee.  Forage  was  plentiful,  and  during 
the  two  weeks  of  rest  and  inactivity  our  horses  recruited  up 
and  were  in  good  condition  when  the  next  move  was  made. 
Nothing  of  special  interest  occurred  while  the  regiment  lay 
in  this  "summer  resort,"  as^the  boys  called  it,  the  idle  hours 
of  the  men  being  spent  in  bathing  and  fishing.  There  was 
a  large  flouring  mill  on  Elk  River,  below  the  stone  bridge, 
which  was  impressed  and  set  to  work  for  "Uncle  Sam," 
grinding  wheat  and  corn  for  the  army,  A  detail  was  made 
from  Company  C  and  placed  in  charge,  and  as  fast  as  the 
grain  was  brought  in,  it  was  converted  into  flour  and  meal 
and  issued  to  the  army. 

On  the  loth  day  of  August,  Mitchell's  division  was 
ordered  to  Huntsville,  where  it  remained  for  two  days,  when 
the  regiment  moved  with  the  remainder  of  the  division,  by 
slow  and  easy  march,  along  the  Memphis  &  Charleston  rail 
road,  to  Stevenson,  Alabama,  by  way  of  Paint  Rock,  Lar- 
kinsville,  Scottsboro  and  Bellefonte,  reaching  Stevenson  on 
the  1 5th.  Here  the  Memphis  &  Charleston  and  the  Nash 
ville  &  Chattanooga  railroads  unite,  and,  after  winding 
around  the  base  of  Lookout  Mountain,  enter  Chattanooga 
on  a  single  track. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  83 

On  the  1 7th,  the  First  Tennessee  was  ordered  to  Boli 
var,  where  for  a  short  time  it  was  actively  engaged  in  scout 
ing,  picketing  and  guarding  the  ferries  and  fords  along  the 
Tennessee  River.  The  last  of  the  month  the  regiment  re 
turned  to  Stevenson  and  went  into  camp  near  Caperton's 
Ferry,  on  the  Tennessee  River.  The  railroad  to  Nashville 
had  been  repaired  and  the  welcome  sound  of  the  locomotive 
was  greeted  with  cheers  as  the  great  iron  monster  rolled  into 
the  Union  camp  each  day,  loaded  with  supplies  for  the  army, 
which  then  lay  near  Stevenson,  the  left  extending  to  Bridge 
port  and  up  Sequatchie  Valley  toward  Jasper. 

General  Rosecrans  had  successfully  maneuvered  Bragg 
out  of  Tullahoma  and  forced  him,  by  flank  movements,  to 
cross  the  Tennessee  River.  Chattanooga  now  became  the 
objective  point,  but  the  topography  of  the  country  around 
Chattanooga  was  such  that  to  capture  it  by  direct  attack 
would  cost  weeks  of  hard,  patient  labor,  beside  the  loss  in 
men,  for  Bragg  had  made  good  use  of  his  time  in  strength 
ening  this  great  stronghold.  Cumberland  Mountain,  Wai- 
den's  Ridge  and  the  Tennessee  River  were  between  Rose 
crans  and  Chattanooga,  each  forming  the  first  great  barrier. 
These  mountains,  with  subordinate  hills,  were  greatly  in  the 
way  of  a  direct  and  successful  advance  upon  Chattanooga, 
especially  with  a  large  army,  encumbered  with  wagons  and 
artillery. 

Chattanooga  at  that  time  was  a  very  important  place, 
not  only  as  a  great  military  point,  but  was  also  a  great  dis 
tributing  place,  it  being  the  main  gateway  east  and  south, 
and  in  order  to  obtain  this  great  prize  without  forcing  Bragg 
into  battle  behind  his  works,  General  Rosecrans  resorted 
again  to  his  well-known  flank  movement  to  dislodge  his  an 
tagonist. 

The  route  to  Bragg's  left  flank  was  rough  and  mountain 
ous  and  was  almost  destitute  of  water,  as  well  as  forage. 
Sand  and  Lookout  Mountains,  with  their  steep  and  rugged 
sides,  with  bad  roads,  presented  a  barrier  almost  too  great 
for  an  army  to  undertake,  and  especially  when  all  the  sup- 


84  HISTORY  OF  HRST  REGIMENT 

plies  and  ammunition  must  be  transported  across  them  in 
army  wagons.  This  alone  was  a  serious  question,  and  no 
doubt  cost  General  Rosecrans  a  great  many  sleepless  nights. 
The  rainy  season  was  over,  and  September  came  in,  hot  and 
dry,  insuring  good  roads  so  indispensable  for  the  successful 
and  rapid  movement  of  the  Union  army  for  Bragg's  left 
and  rear.  The  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  under  Rosecrans, 
lay  along  the  southwest  side  of  the  Tennessee  River :  the 
greater  portion,  however,  was  at  Stevenson  and  Bridge 
port. 


TENNESSEE:  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  85 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ADVANCE  OF  THE  ARMY — CLIMBING  MOUNTAINS — SCENERY 
ABOVE  THE  CLOUDS — DARING  MOVE  OF  THE  FIRST  TENNES 
SEE — LOST  IN  A  MOUNTAIN — BLOODY  CHICKAMAUGA — 

TWO  DAYS   ON   THE   FIELD CRAWFISH    SPRING ON   THE 

MOVE — -WATCHING  WHEELER. 

General  Rosecrans  having  completed  plans  for  a  gen 
eral  advance  of  his  army,  a  pontoon  bridge  was  thrown 
across  the  Tennessee  river  at  Caperton's  Ferry,  on  the  2Qth 
day  of  August,  and  on  the  1st  day  of  September,  Stanley's 
cavalry  broke  camp  and  crossed  over  and  camped  for  a  few 
days  at  Carperton's  Spring,  near  the  base  of  Sand  Mountain. 
Johnson's  and  Davis'  divisions,  Twentieth  Corps,  followed 
as  a  support  to  Stanley's  cavalry.  A  halt  was  made  until 
the  3rd,  to  allow  the  army  to  cross  and  close  up.  On  the 
morning  of  the  3rd,  everything  being  in  "trim"  for  the  ad 
vance,  the  First  Tennessee,  with  the  remainder  of  Stanley's 
cavalry,  began  to  ascend  Sand  Mountain. 

As  we  marched  up  the  steep,  rocky  side  of  the  moun 
tain,  the  rising  sun  on  the  3rd  of  September  shed  its  rays 
on  the  long  lines  of  blue  marching  slowly  along  the  wind 
ing,  zig-zag  road  that  led  up  the  mountain  side.  Sometimes 
the  line  was  visible  in  a  half-dozen  places,  so  short  were  the 
crooks  in  the  road.  Heavy  details  were  made  to  aid  the 
teamsters  in  getting  the  heavily  loaded  wagons  to  the  sum 
mit.  The  drivers  shouted  and  yelled  themselves  hoarse — 
yes,  and  "cussed"  a  little,  too,  at  the  ever-willing,  ever- 
ready,  patient  government  mule,  who,  unmindful  of  the  sur 
roundings,  was  so  faithfully  tugging  away  at  the  loaded 
wagons. 

When  the  summit  was  reached,  wre  paused  for  a  few 


86  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

minutes  and  gazed  upon  one  of  the  most  beautiful  views  to 
be  found  in  this  part  of  the  country.  To  the  northwest,  we 
could  see  the  beautiful  Tennessee  River,  which  wound  in 
its  serpentine  course  along  the  base  of  Lookout  and  Sand 
Mountains,  while  range  after  range  of  small  mountains 
greeted  the  vision  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  The  low, 
rumbling  sound  of  the  artillery  and  wagons  could  be  faintly 
heard  as  they  too  moved  slowly  up  the  mountain. 

We  were  now  on  the  top  of  Sand  Mountain,  which  at 
the  place  we  crossed  is  level,  and  as  we  marched  along  the 
sandy  road  we  were  not  very  favorably  impressed  with  that 
portion  of  Alabama.  We  crossed  during  the  day  Flat  Creek, 
a  small,  sluggish  stream  that  flows  lazily  along  the  top  of 
the  mountain.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  we  marched  down  the 
mountain  and  bivouacked  for  the  night  in  Wills'  Valley, 
having  marched  twenty-two  miles  during  the  day.  The 
next  morning  the  march  was  resumed,  and  we  moved 
through  Winston's  Gap  into  Little  Will's  Valley  at  Valley 
Head,  and  then,  turning  south,  the  army  went  into  camp 
for  the  night  four  miles  from  Valley  Head. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th,  Campbell's  brigade  was  sent 
south  on  a  scout,  and  when  near  Rawlingsville  the  enemy 
were  encountered.  Colonel  Brownlow  was  ordered  to  charge 
them  with  his  regiment,  which  he  did,  driving  the  enemy  two 
miles  through  a  heavy  cloud  of  dust,  in  which  men  and 
horses  were  almost  overcome  with  heat  and  dust. 

From  Rawlingsville  the  brigade  pushed  on  south  to 
Lebanon,  which  was  found  unoccupied,  the  enemy  having 
evacuated  the  place  the  night  before.  The  brigade  was 
ordered  to  return  to  its  camp  at  Allen's  farm,  the  next  three 
days  being  rest-days.  Our  wagon  train  and  the  Twentieth 
Corps,  which  followed  the  route  taken  by  Stanley's  cavalry, 
reached  us  at  this  place.  We  were  now  about  forty-two 
miles  south  of  Chattanooga. 

General  Stanley  moved  his  cavalry  at  daylight  on  the 
Qth  up  the  valley  to  Winston's  Gap,  where  all  of  his  troops 
crossed  Lookout  Mountain,  reaching  Broomtown  Valley  at 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  87 

Alpine,  Georgia.  At  this  place,  late  in  the  afternoon,  we 
had  a  brisk  skirmish  with  some  Mississippi  troops.  We  lay 
in  line  of  battle  during  the  night  along  the  base  of  Lookout 
Mountain.  The  night  was  quite  cold,  making  overcoats  a 
welcome  companion.  Before  leaving  this  place  we  learned 
through  our  scouts  that  Bragg  had  evacuated  Chattanooga. 
So,  without  a  battle,  the  primary  object  of  this  short  cam 
paign — Chattanooga,  the  great  "gateway"  to  the  south — fell 
into  our  hands,  the  result  of  Rosecrans'  strategy. 

The  loth  was  spent  scouting  in  the  direction  of  Melville, 
on  the  road  leading  to  Rome.  The  next  day,  the  First  Di 
vision,  under  McCook,  was  again  sent  toward  Rome,  and, 
after  crossing  Chattooga  River,  the  First  Tennessee  was 
sent  forward  on  the  road  leading  to  Rome,  and  after,  moving 
about  five  miles  on  this  road,  Colonel  Brownlow  sent  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Dyer,  with  half  of  the  regiment,  toward 
Rome.  The  other  half,  under  Colonel  Brownlow,  moved  to 
Dirt  Town,  on  the  road  leading  from  Rome  to  Dalton. 

The  writer  was  sent  forward  in  charge  of  the  advance 
guard,  and  we  had  not  gone  far  before  we  captured  two 
Confederates  who  belonged  to  some  Georgia  regiment,  and 
learned  from  them  that  Forrest's  and  Wharton's  divisions 
of  Wheeler's  command  were  encamped  only  a  short  distance 
ahead.  If  the  sun  had  sud'denly  ceased  to  shine,  it  would 
have  been  no  greater  surprise  to  our  captives  than  the  sight 
of  blue-coats.  They  did  not  believe  at  first  that  we  were 
''Yankees,"  but  when  they  saw  the  flags  they  became  con 
vinced,  and  wanted  to  know  wThat  we  were  doing  down  in 
"Dixie,"  the  land  of  cotton. 

With  this  information  we  pushed  ahead,  and  at  dark 
attacked  and  drove  in  Wheeler's  pickets.  Colonel  Brown- 
low  nowr  ordered  forward  his  detachment,  and  a  running 
fight  was  kept  up  for  a  mile  or  two,  only  halting  when  we 
heard  Wheeler's  bugles  sounding  "boots  and  saddles."  We 
captured  fifteen  prisoners,  and  on  our  return  destroyed  a 
small  bridge  that  we  supposed  spanned  Chattooga  river. 
From  the  men  captured  we  learned  that  a  large  force  of 


88  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

infantry  and  cavalry  was  near  by,  and  being  so  far  from  the 
remainder  of  the  division,  our  position  was  critical,  for  we 
knew  the  night  was  never  too  dark  or  the  day  too  cold  for 
Wheeler  to  let  an  opportunity  slip  if  there  was  any  pros 
pect  of  capturing  the  First  Tennessee  cavalry. 

The  night  was  dark,  and  as  we  quietly  moved  back  we 
could  hear  the  rumbling  of  Bragg' s  wagons  as  they  moved 
along  the  Rome  and  Lafayette  road.  We  were  marching 
along  late  in  the  night,  tired  and  sleepy,  when  a  voice  rang 
out,  "Halt!  Who  comes  there?  "  Our  advance  guard 
answered,  "Friends,  without  the  countersign."  Could  it  be 
friend  or  foe  making  the  challenge?  One  of  the  advance 
guard  dismounted  and  advanced  to  find  out  who  dared  to 
stop  us  on  the  highway.  The  faithful  sentinel  was  a  member 
of  the  Second  Indiana  Cavalry,,  of  our  division.  We 
marched  a  short  distance,  crossed  Chattooga  River,  and  went 
into  camp  for  the  night.  On  lighting  our  camp-fires  we 
found  we  were  in  the  midst  of  sweet  potatoes  and  peanuts, 
which  helped  to  piece  out  our  rations,  which  were  getting 
shorter  each  day. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Dyer,  after  leaving  the  regiment, 
moved  forward  rapidly  on  the  road  leading  to  Rome.  Meet 
ing  with  but  little  opposition,  he  continued  his  march  to  a 
place  called  "The  Narrows,"  within  ten  miles  of  Rome, 
where  he  drove  in  the  enemy's  pickets,  capturing  several 
prisoners,  a  lot  of  arms  and  equipments.  Both  detachments 
were  successful,  and  obtained  some  very  valuable  and  use 
ful  information  of  the  enemy's  movements,  and  after  having 
accomplished  the  object  for  which  the  reconnoissance  was 
made,  they  returned  without  loss. 

On  the  following  morning  General  McCook  moved  his 
division  back  to  Alpine.  The  camp  was  hardly  quiet  when 
an  order  came  for  McCook  to  move  his  division  to  the  sup 
port  of  Crook,  who  at  that  time  was  near  Lafayette.  By  1 1 
a.  m.  on  the  I2th,  the  whole  of  McCook's  division  was  on 
the  march,  going  up  the  Broomtown  Valley  road,  camping 
for  the  night  near  Summerviile.  The  march  was  resumed 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  89 

the  next  morning  at  6  o'clock  toward  Lafayette,  and  when 
within  three  miles  of  the  latter  place  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania, 
the  leading  regiment  of  Campbell's  brigade,  encountered 
the  enemy's  pickets  and  drove  them  back  for  two  miles  upon 
their  main  line. 

The  First  Tennessee  was  formed  in  line  on  the  right 
of  the  road  and  moved  forward  through  the  woods,  and  as 
the  regiment  emerged  at  the  opposite  side,  a  battery  opened 
fire  at  short  range.  The  artillerymen  were  either  new  men 
or  old  ones  "excited,"  for  each  shot  passed  harmlessly  above 
our  heads.  One  shell  exploded  directly  over  the  colors  of 
the  regiment,  but  no  one  was  struck  with  the  flying  frag 
ments. 

The  Ninth  Pennsylvania  charged  along  the  road 
through  a  perfect  cloud  of  dust,  which  completely  con 
cealed  the  enemy,  who  now  opened  a  brisk  fire,  killing  and 
wounding  several  men.  The  Second  Michigan  deployed  and 
followed  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  as  a  support.  Campbell 
was  about  to  renew  the  fight  when  he  received  orders  to 
fall  back,  the  enemy  shelling  the  woods  furiously  in  our  rear 
as  we  left  the  field. 

The  prisoners  captured  belonged  to  Breckinridge's  di 
vision  of  Hill's  corps,  and  from  them  we  learned  that 
Bragg's  headquarters  was  in  Lafayette,  and  that  his  army 
was  in  close  proximity.  Bragg  was  equally  as  anxious  to 
find  out  the  location  and  position  of  Rosecrans;  army,  which 
at  that  time  was  very  much  scattered,  and  evidently  Bragg 
intended  to  whip  Rosecrans  in  detail.  This  movement  of 
the  Union  cavalry  to  Lafayette  developed  the  fact  that 
Bragg's  army  lay  near  there  and  that  he  was  equally  inter 
ested  in  locating  Rosecrans'  army. 

It  was  exceedingly  hot  and  dry,  no  rain  having  fallen 
since  the  1st  of  September,  and.  the  great  clouds  of  dust 
raised  by  our  industrious  cavalry  were  at  times  almost  un 
bearable  ;  in  fact,  the  movements  of  either  army  could  almost 
be  traced  by  the  dust  raised  by  the  marching  troops.  But, 
fortunately  for  the  men  and  horses,  there  was  plenty  of 


90  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

water,  and  when  a  halt  was  made  the  dust,  which  was 
streaked  with  perspiration,  was  washed  off  so  that  we  could 
distinguish  one  comrade  from  another. 

General  Stanley  was  unable  to  communicate  with  Rose- 
crans  by  the  valley  road,  it  being  held  by  Bragg.  The  whole 
command  was  moved  back  to  Alpine,  where  it  bivouacked 
for  the  night.  The  only  avenue  of  escape  for  Stanley's 
troops  was  to  re-cross  Lookout  Mountain  and  move  up  the 
west  side.  On  the  morning  of  the  I4th,  we  left  our  camp 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  and  began  to  climb  Lookout. 
When  we  reached  the  summit  we  could  see  great  clouds 
of  dust  raised  by  the  marching  Confederates,  and  as  we 
looked  down  from  our  lofty  position  on  our  dust-covered 
pursuers  we  rather  enjoyed  seeing  them  battle  with  the  dust 
down  in  the  valley.  It  was  a  great  change.  Free  from  the 
dust  and  the  enemy,  and  fanned  by  the  cool  mountain  breeze, 
we  almost  wanted  to  tarry  longer. 

We  encamped  at  night  on  the  top  of  the  mountain,  on 
Yellow  Fork  of  Little  River.  Here  Robert  Hixon,  Com 
pany  C,  who  was  captured  at  College  Grove,  reported  for 
duty.  Resuming  the  march  the  next  morning,  the  whole 
command  descended  from  Lookout  Mountain  and  moved 
up  Will's  Valley  and  bivouacked  near  Valley  Head.  At  this 
place,  General  Stanley,  who  had  been  very  ill  for  several 
days,  turned  over  his  command  to  General  Mitchell  and 
was  sent  to  Nashville  for  treatment. 

When  our  cavalry  left  Will's  Valley  on  the  9th,  all  the 
wagons  and  the  sick  were  left  behind,  so  on  our  return  we 
were  glad  to  see  them,  for  our  rations  were  getting  short. 
A  fresh  supply  was  issued  to  the  men,  the  horses  shod,  and 
once  more  we  cut  loose  from  our  trains  and,  marching 
through  Winston's  Gap,  re-crossed  Lookout  Mountain  at 
Dougherty's  Gap  and  once  more  entered  Georgia,  and 
camped  for  the  night  in  McLemore's  Cove,  having  marched 
eighteen  miles  over  bad  roads. 

Every  surviving  member  of  the  First  Tennessee  who 
was  with  the  regiment  on  the  night  of  September  16  will 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  91 

recall  the  thrilling  experience  in  descending  Lookout  Moun 
tain  at  McLemore's  Cove.  The  night  was  dark,  and  we 
missed  the  road,  consequently  it  was  more  of  a  slide  than  a 
march.  It  was  a  thrilling  experience  to  us,  and  to  this  day 
we  cannot  understand  how  we  ever  reached  the  base  with 
out  serious  loss. 

On  reaching  McLemore's  Cove,  General  Mitchell  found 
the  Union  army  had  moved  toward  Crawfish  Spring,  where 
Rosecrans  was  making  a  desperate  attempt  to  unite  his 
scattered  forces.  General  Bragg  was  heavily  reinforced 
with  troops  from  Georgia  and  Mississippi,  and  with  this 
superior  force  at  hand  he  began  to  mass  his  troops  on  Rose 
crans'  left,  and  in  order  to  conceal  this  move  he  made  active 
demonstrations  on  the  Union  left.  But,  with  all  of  his 
shrewdness,  he  never  caught  old  "Rosy"  napping;  in  fact, 
Rosecrans  had  his  army  united  before  Bragg  was  ready  to 
deliver  battle. 

On  the  1 7th,  McCook's  division  was  moved  up  near 
Cedar  Grove  Church.  We  were  now  approaching  the  battle 
field,  for  occasionally  we  could  hear  the  distant  boom  of 
cannon,  and  as  the  fire  increased  and  gave  assurances  of  a 
general  engagement,  the  troops  closed  their  ranks,  tightened 
their  belts  and  moved  steadily  forward  with  that  firm  and 
soldierly  alacrity  which  characterizes  the  action  of  brave  and 
determined  men  on  the  eve  of  battle.  As  we  moved  forward 
our  minds  wandered  to  our  far-off  homes,  where  loved  ones 
were  anxiously  waiting  with  bated  breath  the  result  of  the 
battle,  the  last  letter  from  the  front  having  told  of  the 
approaching  conflict. 

Resuming  the  march  the  next  morning,  we  moved  to 
Bailey's  Cross  Roads  and  bivouacked  for  the  night.  Early 
on  the  morning  of  the  iQth,  the  column  was  set  in  motion 
by  way  of  Pond  Spring  to  Crawfish  Spring.  On  approach 
ing  the  latter  place,  a  sharp  engagement  occurred  between 
the  Second  Brigade  of  McCook's  division  and  the  enemy's 
cavalry. 

The  enemy  being  repulsed,  we  moved  on  to  Crawfish 


92  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Spring  and  formed  in  line  of  battle  to  the  right  of  McCook's 
Twentieth  Corps.  The  writer  will  not  attempt  to  give  a 
detailed  account  of  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  it  being 
familiar  to  the  men  who  were  engaged  in  it,  and  those  who 
were  not  can  consult  more  elaborate  works. 

On  the  morning  of  the  19th,  the  Union  army  lay  along 
the  southwest  side  of  Chickamauga  Creek.  The  ground 
over  which  this  great  battle  was  fought  is  almost  level,  the 
greater  portion  being  covered  with  a  low,  scrubby  growth 
of  timber.  The  battle  was  fought  without  the  aid  of  breast 
works,  and  possibly  no  battle  of  the  war  had  fewer  obstruc 
tions  to  conceal  the  movements  of  the  contending  forces. 
General  Mitchell  formed  his  cavalry  in  line  in  front  and  to 
the  left  of  Crawfish  Spring,  and  during  the  afternoon  of  the 
igth,  there  wrere  several  sharp  engagements  between  the 
enemy's  cavalry,  who  were  trying  to  gain  our  rear  by  the 
Dry  Valley  read.  Our  ammunition  and  supply  trains  were 
also  in  this  valley,  and  Mitchell's  orders  were,  "Hold  Craw 
fish  Spring  at  all  hazards." 

During  the  day  the  cavalry  was  advanced  and  took  up 
a  position  along  the  southwest  bank  of  Chickamauga 
Creek,  meaning  in  the  Indian  tongue,  "the  river  of  death." 
The  enemy  made  several  attempts  to  cross  at  the  different 
fords  during  the  afternoon,  but  were  driven  back.  During 
the  afternoon  the  battle  to  our  left  raged  with  all  the  fury 
of  a  storm.  The  terrible  discharges  of  artillery  and  the  vol 
leys  of  musketry  shook  the  earth ;  the  smoke  hung  low  and 
almost  shut  out  from  view  the  contending  armies,  but  above 
all  the  din  and  noise  of  battle,  the  shouts  of  the  charging 
columns  could  be  heard  as  the  tide  of  battle  ebbed  and 
flowed. 

There  was  a  constant  shifting  and  working  of  the  Union 
lines  toward  our  left,  consequently  the  cavalry  was  soon  left 
without  infantry  support,  but  we  maintained  our  position 
throughout  the  struggle,  and  only  retired  when  the  day  was 
lost.  The  first  day's  battle  closed  with  severe  loss  on  both 
sides ;  in  fact,  but  little  advantage  had  been  gained  by  either 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  93 

side.  It  was  a  day  in  which  both  sides  had  made  a  series  of 
brilliant  charges  in  favor  of  first  one  side  and  then  the  other. 
The  exhausted  men,  with  parched  lips,  lay  down  on  their 
arms  to  pass  a  cheerless  and  comfortless  night  on  the  battle 
field,  with  dead  and  wounded  comrades  on  all  sides.  During 
the  night,  Rosecrans  adjusted  his  lines  and  gave  orders  for 
the  disposition  and  movements  of  his  troops  the  next  day.  In 
this  day's  struggle  the  First  Tennessee  lost  one  man  wounded 
— Corporal  W.  A.  Cannon,  of  Company  C. 

Bragg  was  heavily  reinforced  during  the  night  by  Long- 
street's  army  from  Virginia,  and  at  a  meeting  of  his  gen 
erals  he  laid  before  them  his  plan  of  battle  for  the  following 
day.  His  plan  was  to  divide  his  army  into  two  commands 
and  assign  as  commanders  his  two  senior  Lieutenant-Gen- 
erals,  Polk  and  Longstreet.  On  Sunday  morning,  the  2Oth, 
a  heavy  fog  hung  over  the  battlefield,  which  concealed  the 
movements  of  the  troops.  During  the  night  the  Union  troops 
on  some  portions  of  the  line  built  temporary  breastworks  of 
rails  and  logs,  and  behind  them  the  veterans  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland  awaited  the  attack. 

It  was  about  half  past  8  o'clock  when  Bragg  ordered 
Polk  to  make  a  vigorous  attack  upon  the  Union  left.  This 
part  of  our  line  was  held  by  Thomas,  the  hero  of  Mill 
Springs.  The  Confederates  rushed  forward  with  their  well- 
known  "rebel  yell,"  and  after  two  hours  of  desperate  fight 
ing  they  failed  in  their  attempt  to  turn  the  Union  left,  or 
even  gain  any  advantage,  and  sullenly  fell  back.  On  this 
part  of  the  line  the  fighting  was  desperate.  Bayonets  were 
freely  baptized  in  blood.  Here  it  was  that  Breckinridge's 
division  suffered  such  heavy  loss,  General  Helm,  of  Ken 
tucky,  falling  at  this  place.  Generals  Cleburne  and  Stewart 
made  mention  in  their  reports  that  the  musketry  and  artillery 
fire  was  the  most  destructive  they  had  ever  encountered. 

The  fighting  gradually  opened  all  aV^ng  the  line,  and 
soon  the  roar  of  artillery  and  the  rattle  of  musketry  had 
increased  to  one  continuous  sound.  On  the  extreme  right, 
Mitchell's  cavalry  was  contending  heroically  against  Bragg's 


94  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

infantry  and  cavalry — still  protecting  the  right  of  McCook's 
corps.  Both  flanks  of  the  Union  army  were  well  protected 
by  the  cavalry ;  in  fact,  they  were  so  vigilant  and  kept  the 
enemy  so  closely  engaged  that  he  was  unable  to  use  his 
cavalry  at  any  other  part  of  the  line.  The  fighting  on  the 
Union  left  early  in  the  morning  was  along  the  Lafayette 
road,  and  evidently  Bragg  intended  to  crush  this  part  of 
Rosecrans'  line  and  gain  Rossville  Gap,  through  which  runs 
the  Chattanooga  and  Lafayette  road. 

Had  it  not  been  for  a  blunder  made  by  an  aide  with  but 
little  knowledge  of  the  meaning  of  military  terms,  it  is  ex 
ceedingly  doubtful  if  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  would 
have  been  driven  from  the  field  of  Chickamauga.  On  the 
Union  left,  the  storm  of  battle  had  spent  its  force,  and 
Thomas  was  still  holding  his  own  against  great  odds.  The 
center  and  right  had  successfully  resisted  the  repeated  at 
tacks  of  Longstreet's  troops  during  the  morning.  Here  is 
a  copy  of  the  fatal  order: 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND, 

September  20th,  10 145  a.  m. 
BRIGADIER-GENERAL  WOOD,  Commanding  Division : 

The  general  commanding  directs  that  you  close  up  on  Reynolds 
as  fast  as  possible  and  support  him.  Respectfully,  etc., 

FRANK  S.  BOND, 
Major  and  Aide-de-Camp. 

General  Wood  says:  "I  received  the  order  about  n 
o'clock.  At  the  moment  of  its  receipt  I  was  a  short  distance 
in  rear  of  the  center  of  my  command."  Wood  was  a  West 
Pointer,  and  saw  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  execute  the 
order  literally.  Wood's  left  was  aligned  with  Brannan's 
right  and  he  saw  no  way  to  close  up  on  Reynold's  but  to 
withdraw  and  pass  to  the  left  in  rear  of  Brannan,  which  he 
did.  This  left  a  gap  in  the  Union  line  the  length  of  two 
brigades,  and  at  that  moment  Longstreet,  who  was  advanc 
ing  in  heavy  force,  saw  it,  and  immediately  threw  the  divis 
ions  of  Hood,  Kershaw,  Johnson  and  Hindman  into  this 
gap.  The  right  center  and  the  whole  right  wing  was  dis- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  95 

abled,  and  to  resist  this  sudden  and  fierce  assault  McCook, 
with  the  remainder  of  his  corps,  tried  to  stay  the  tide,  and 
in  doing  so  the  brave  and  gallant  Lytle  fell.  At  this  point 
our  army  lost  more  than  a  thousand  prisoners,  thirty-five 
cannon  and  a  lot  of  wagons. 

General  Thomas,  "The  Rock  of  Chickamauga,"  with 
the  remainder  of  the  army — about  five  divisions — and  the 
reserves  under  Granger,  re-formed  his  troops  on  the  crest  of 
Horseshoe  Ridge,  between  the  Lafayette  and  Dry  Valley 
roads.  Here  during  that  long  Sunday  afternoon  the  most 
desperate  fighting  of  the  day  was  done,  against  fearful 
odds. 

About  4  o'clock,  Bragg  determined  to  make  one  more 
attempt  to  capture  Horseshoe  Ridge.  He  at  once  ordered 
up  his  reserves  under  Preston,  supported  by  Stewart's  corps, 
and  with  wild  yells  and  confident  of  success  they  dashed  at 
our  lines,  but  were  again  repulsed.  Here  the  slaughter  was 
frightful.  The  Union  troops  searched  the  cartridge-boxes 
of  friend  as  well  as  foe  for  ammunition. 

General  Mitchell,  in  his  report  of  the  battle  of  Chicka 
mauga,  says :  "About  3  p.  m.  I  received  verbal  orders  from 
an  orderly  from  General  McCook  to  fall  back,  as  our  right 
had  been  turned.  Not  deeming  an  order  of  so  important  a 
nature  as  that,  coming  in  such  a  manner,  valid,  I  did  not 
move,  as  I  had  been  ordered  in  the  morning  to  hold  Crawfish 
Spring  at  all  hazards,  but  sent  a  staff  officer  to  ascertain  the 
position  of  affairs  and,  if  possible,  communicate  with  either 
General  McCook  or  Rosecrans.  From  him  I  learned  that 
our  right  had  been  driven  round  and  that  everything  on 
the  right  was  moving  toward  Chattanooga,  up  Chattanooga 
Valley." 

After  all  the  wagons  had  been  started  toward  Chatta 
nooga  under  an  escort,  all  the  ambulances  were  loaded  with 
wounded  soldiers  who  were  able  to  ride.  It  will  be  remem 
bered  that  at  the  opening  of  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  the 
principal  hospital  for  the  reception  of  the  wounded  was  es 
tablished  at  Crawfish  Spring,  and  no  better  place  could  have 


96  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

been  selected.  The  Lee  Mansion  and  all  out-buildings  were 
used,  beside  tents.  Just  a  short  distance  from  this  old 
homestead,  a  large,  magnificent  spring  gushes  out  from 
under  a  ledge  of  stone,  and  from  this  famous  "Crawfish 
Spring"  thousands  of  our  wounded  quenched  their  thirst. 
Around  this  mansion  numerous  large,  stately  oaks  are  found, 
whose  outspreading  branches  protected  our  wounded  from 
the  hot  rays  of  the  sun.  The  writer  visited  the  battlefield 
a  few  years  ago,  and  found  but  few  changes  had  been  made, 
the  general  appearance  being  unchanged.  At  the  celebrated 
Crawfish  Spring  a  busy  water-wheel  is  to  be  seen  supplying 
the  old  mansion  with  water,  the  spring  not  only  supplying 
the  water  but  the  power  which  runs  the  pump  as  well. 

The  turn  of  affairs  on  our  left  cut  us  off  from  all  com 
munication  with  AlcCook,  who  was  in  command  on  the  right, 
and  Mitchell  was  left  to  make  his  way  as  best  he  could 
toward  Chattanooga.  The  scene  around  the  hospital  at 
Crawfish  Spring  when  we  left  was  one  of  peculiar  sadness, 
and  to  be  seen  was  never  to  be  forgotten.  Hundreds  of  our 
men  who  had  been  taken  from  the  battlefield  badly  wounded 
had  answered  to  the  last  roll-call  amid  the  boom  of  cannon, 
and  as  the  living  demanded  all  the  time  and  attention  of 
those  in  charge,  the  dead,  for  the  time  being,  were  laid  out 
in  rows,  side  by  side,  awaiting  the  burial  party. 

McCook's  division  covered  the  withdrawal  of  the  trains 
to  Chattanooga  and,  although  cut  off  as  it  was  and  almost 
surrounded  with  infantry  and  cavalry,  the  retreat  was  made 
in  good  order  and  without  the  loss  of  a  wagon.  There  were 
several  sharp  attacks  made  upon  Mitchell's  cavalry  before 
leaving  Crawfish  Spring,  but  each  was  repulsed,  and  at  5 
p.  m.  it  left  for  Chattanooga. 

Just  here  I  want  to  relate  an  incident  that  occurred  at 
the  time  of  our  withdrawal  from  Crawfish  Spring.  It  serves 
as  a  reminder  of  that  true  friendship  that  existed  among 
soldiers.  When  the  ambulances  and  wagons  had  been 
loaded,  there  yet  remained  thousands  of  our  wounded  com 
rades,  and  in  the  absence  of  orders,  our  boys  began  to  dis- 


COKPOBAL   GEO.    M.  TKOBAUUH,   COMPANY    I> 


M.   C.    WILLIAMS, 
First  Sergeant-Major  of  the  Regiment,  and  Lieut.  Co.  G 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  97 

mount  and  place  a  wounded  soldier  in  his  stead,  and  in  this 
way  hundreds  could  have  been  brought  from  the  red  field  of 
ChickamaugcU  When  our  commander  found  out  that  we 
were  letting  our  wounded  soldiers  ride,  he  made  all  dis 
mount  and  return  to  the  hospital,  giving  as  his  reason  that 
if  we  should  be  attacked  the  wounded  would  be  greatly  in 
the  way,  some  scarcely  being  able  to  sit  on  the  horses  when 
quietly  marching  along,  while  our  dismounted  men  would 
also  be  of  little  service. 

We  fell  back  toward  Chattanooga,  bringing  off  two 
guns  which  had  been  abandoned  by  the  troops  of  McCook's 
corps.  Mitchell  marched  his  command  six  miles  toward 
Chattanooga  and  bivouacked  for  the  night  in  line  of  battle. 

The  next  morning  the  whole  command  was  placed  in 
line  of  battle  across  the  Chattanooga  Valley  road,  and  dur 
ing  the  day  the  enemy's  cavalry  moved  up  and  several  light 
skirmishes  occurred,  but  no  severe  attack  was  made.  This 
valley  was  full  of  stragglers,  all  going  at  a  "two-forty  gait" 
toward  Chattanooga.  During  the  day  the  Second  Brigade 
opened  up  communication  with  the  right  wing  of  the  Union 
army  and  held  Woods'  Gap,  in  Missionary  Ridge,  through 
which  a  road  enters,  leading  to  Dry  Valley.  We  again 
bivouacked  in  line  of  battle,  and  early  the  next  morning  it 
was  discovered  that  we  were  almost  surrounded.  Orders 
were  issued  immediately  for  us  to  fall  back  with  as  little 
noise  as  possible. 

The  artillery  wheels  were  muffled  by  wrapping  blankets 
around  them,  the  cavalry,  except  the  rear-guard,  was  dis 
mounted,  and  each  man  was  required  to  carry  his  saber  in 
his  hand  to  avoid  noise,  and  in  this  way  we  moved  some  dis 
tance  along  the  foot  of  Lookout  Mountain,  leading  our 
horses,  not  being  allowed  to  speak  above  a  whisper.  As 
we  passed  the  end  of  Lookout  Mountain,  we  saw  the  Third, 
Fifth  and  Sixth  Tennessee  Volunteers  of  the  old  Twenty- 
fifth  Brigade,  standing  in  line  of  battle.  This  brigade  had 
been  thrown  out  as  an  advance-guard  and  to  cover  the  re 
treat  of  the  L^nion  army. 


98  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Soon  after  we  passed  them,  the  enemy  made  an  attack, 
but  were  driven  back  after  a  brisk  skirmish.  We  were 
halted  in  Chattanooga,  near  Fort  Negley,  where  we  found 
the  Union  troops  working  like  beavers,  throwing  up  breast 
works. 

The  September  returns  of  Rosecrans'  army  showed  a 
total  effective  force  of  67,584,  yet  when  the  troops  that  were 
guarding  bridges,  trains  and  other  important  places  are 
taken  out,  it  is  exceedingly  doubtful  if  Rosecrans  had  in  the 
two  days'  battle  over  56,000  men.  As  Bragg  made  no 
monthly  report,  it  is  difficult  to  get  the  exact  figures,  but 
from  the  best  information  obtainable  his  total  effective  force 
during  the  battle  was  not  far  from  70,000  men.  Here  is  the 
loss  in  the  two  days'  fighting: 

Killed        Wounded        Missing          Total 

Union,  1,700  9,394  5,255         16,349 

Confederate,  2,673         16,274  2,003         20,950 

As  many  of  those  on  our  side  reported  as  missing  were 
among  the  slain,  the  number  of  killed  no  doubt  exceeded 
the  loss  given.  The  results  of  the  battle  were  of  no  benefit 
to  Bragg,  as  we  still  held  Chattanooga,  while  on  the  other 
hand  it  was  an  immense  drain  on  the  resources  of  his  army. 

The  total  loss  in  the  cavalry  for  the  two  days  was  four 
hundred  and  sixty-eight.  General  Rosecrans,  in  his  report 
of  the  Chattanooga  campaign  and  the  battle  of  Chickamauga, 
says :  "As  to  the  cavalry,  the  accompanying  reports  are  so 
full  that  I  need  only  add  that  as  an  arm  of  the  service  it  has 
been  equal  to  its  duty  on  all  occasions,  and  on  the  i8th, 
1 9th  and  2Oth  of  September  it  behaved  with  conspicuous 
gallantry,  covering  our  shattered  right,  and  protected  our 
trains  in  the  valley  of  Chattanooga  Creek  on  the  2Oth.  It 
is  greatly  due  to  the  behavior  of  the  cavalry  on  that  day 
that  we  lost  none  of  our  wagons,  and  that  many  of  our 
ambulances  and  some  of  our  artillery  and  caissons  came 
safely  into  the  place." 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  22nd,  Mitchell  was  ordered 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  99 

to  move  his  cavalry  to  the  north  side  of  the  Tennessee  River. 
He  began  crossing  at  6  o'clock,  near  the  point  of  an  island 
a  short  distance  above  Chattanooga.  The  river  at  this  place 
was  very  wide,  and  at  the  north  bank  was  quite  deep,  yet 
the  crossing  was  made  with  only  the  loss  of  a  few  horses. 
As  we  were  crossing,  Bragg  shelled  us  from  Missionary 
Ridge,  but  did  no  harm  except  to  keep  us  "a  little  uneasy." 
We  lay  in  camp  opposite  Chattanooga  for  one  day,  and  then 
moved  to  Severly  Springs,  six  miles  from  Chattanooga.  On 
the  night  of  the  25th,  our  camp  had  hardly  gotten  quiet 
when  ''them  confounded  old  buglers"  began  to  blow  "boots 
and  saddles" — a  call  that  the  First  Tennessee  was  exceed 
ingly  familiar  with.  It  was  a  ground-hog  case,  and  we  had 
to  go.  We  immediately  crawled  out  of  our  tents,  saddled 
our  horses,  and  at  9  p.  m.  left  camp,  and  marched  rapidly 
toward  Walden's  Ridge,  which  we  crossed  during  the  night, 
reaching  Jasper,  in  the  Sequatchie  Valley,  early  the  next 
morning.  If  anyone  thinks  that  we  had  a  "picnic"  in  cross 
ing  Walden's  Ridge  that  night,  we  will  object  and  say  that 
"wise  heads  will  differ." 

After  a  short  halt  to  feed  and  get  breakfast,  the  com 
mand  was  pushed  forward  to  Bridgeport.  On  the  27th, 
Campbell's  brigade  was  ordered  to  Stevenson,  and  from  this 
place  was  pushed  on  to  Pump  Spring,  where  pickets  and 
patrols  were  thrown  out  along  the  river.  This  hasty  move 
was  made  for  the  purpose  of  watching  Wheeler,  who  was 
reported  to  be  moving  toward  the  river  and,  if  possible,  to 
cross  and  break  our  communications.  On  the  28th,  the  First 
Tennessee  and  Ninth  Pennsylvania  were  ordered  to  Belle- 
font  to  reinforce  the  third  brigade  of  our  division,  who  re 
ported  that  Wheeler  was  trying  to  cross  near  that  place. 
After  marching  hard  for  six  miles,  word  reached  us  that  the 
enemy  had  been  driven  back  across  the  river,  and  we  re 
turned  to  our  camp  at  Pump  Springs,  near  Stevenson. 


100  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WHEELER'S  GREAT  RAID — LARGE  WAGON  TRAIN  BURNED — THE 
PURSUIT — ^WINCHESTER — FIGHTING  BUSHWHACKERS — 
LIEUT.  BOWMAN  ATTACKED  NEAR  SPARTA — HIS  SOLDIERS 
KILLED  AFTER  SURRENDERING  —  TAKE  NO  PRISONERS. 
BROWNLOW  QUIETS  THE  "GUERRILLAS." 

When  General  Bragg  evacuated  Chattanooga,  the  un 
finished  works  left  by  him  were  at  once  strengthened  by 
Rosecrans.  The  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  it  is  true,  had 
been  driven  from  Chickamauga,  and  now  lay  behind  the 
almost  impregnable  works,  yet  the  confidence  of  "Old  Rosy" 
was  not  shaken  because  of  his  failure  to  hold  the  field. 
Bragg  moved  up-  and  threatened  to  attack  Rosecrans  in  his 
works,  but  after  a  few  days  of  maneuvering,  he  disposed  of 
his  forces  and  laid  siege  to  the  town,  hoping  in  this  way  to 
accomplish  what  he  had  failed  to  do  in  battle. 

Bragg  took  possession  of  Missionary  Ridge  and  built 
a  strong  line  of  works  on  the  crest,  extending  from  the 
Tennessee  River,  above  town,  across  the  Chattanooga  Val 
ley  to  the  top  of  Lookout  Mountain.  The  latter  place  in 
November  became  historical,  it  being  the  place  where  Hooker 
fought  the  battle  "above  the  clouds." 

The  railroad  from  Nashville  had  been  repaired,  and 
the  cars  were  running  to  Bridgeport,  on  the  Tennessee  River. 
From  this  point,  the  supplies  for  the  Union  army  were 
hauled  in  army  wagons  over  the  mountains  to  Chattanooga. 
This  route  was  up  Sequatchie  Valley  and  across  Walden's 
Ridge.  Bragg  had  a  large  and  well-equipped  force  of  cav 
alry,  and  decided  to  move  it  upon  this  "overland  route" 
and  destroy  it.  His  cavalry  was  to  cross  the  river  at  three 
different  points  and  move  in  whatever  direction  that  prom 
ised  the  best  results. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  101 

On  the  30th  day  of  September,  Wheeler  succeeded  in 
crossing  Tennessee  River  at  Washington  with  at  least  six 
thousand  men  and  moved  toward  Walden's  Ridge.  General 
Crook,  with  the  Second  Division,  was  guarding  the  river 
above  Chattanooga,  but  owing  to  the  scattered  condition  of 
his  troops,  Wheeler  was  able  to  drive  back  the  small  force  at 
Washington  and  cross  to  the  west  side.  Once  across, 
Wheeler  pushed  rapidly  toward  the  communications  of  the 
army.  By  the  time  Crook  had  collected  his  scattered  troops, 
Wheeler  had  several  hours  the  start. 

At  the  time  Wheeler  crossed  the  river  McCook's  First 
Division  was  distributed  along  the  south  side  from  Bridge 
port  to  Bellefont,  but  on  receipt  of  orders  he  started  in  pur 
suit  with  the  Second  Brigade.  Colonel  Campbell  started 
with  his  brigade  October  2,  at  I  p.  m.,  from  Stevenson,  by 
way  of  Bridgeport,  to  Anderson's  Cross  Roads,  in  Sequat- 
chie  Valley.  The  First  Tennessee  moved  with  the  brigade 
and  reached  McCook  four  miles  north  of  Anderson's  Cross 
Roads  at  10  a.  m.  on  the  3rd,  having  marched  fifty  miles, 
making  only  two  short  halts  to  feed  the  tired  and  almost 
worn-out  horses. 

McCook,  without  waiting  for  his  division  to  unite, 
pushed  ahead  with  the  Second  Brigade,  but  was  unable  to 
prevent  the  destruction  of  a  part  of  Rosecrans'  train. 
Wheeler  overtook  the  train  near  Anderson's  Cross  Roads, 
and  succeeded  in  burning  something  over  three  hundred 
wagons  and  killed  a  large  number  of  mules.  LaGrange 
charged  the  enemy  with  his  brigade  and  drove  him  back, 
recapturing  a  lot  of  wagons  and  eight  hundred  mules.  The 
enemy  fell  back  about  one  mile  south  of  Anderson's  Cross 
Roads  and  there  made  a  stand  behind  a  rail  barricade. 

McCook  again  charged  with  saber  and  routed  Wheeler, 
killing  and  capturing  one  hundred  and  sixteen.  Among 
the  former  was  Major  Reed,  of  Wheeler's  staff.  A  portion 
of  the  train  was  loaded  with  ammunition,  and  as  we  dashed 
by,  the  explosions  resembled  a  battle.  Along  with  the  train 
were  several  sutlers,  with  their  wagons  well  loaded  with  a 


102  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

miscellaneous  stock,  and  in  the  stampede  their  goods  were 
strewn  about  in  tempting  profusion.  It  was  a  grand  treat 
for  Wheeler's  men,  and  yet  "a  little  costly." 

McCook's  division  now  being  united,  pushed  on  to  Dun- 
lap,  where  it  bivouacked  for  the  night.  The  troops  engaged 
were  Martin's  division,  under  the  personal  command  of 
Wheeler,  and  it  was  reported  that  he  came  very  near  being 
captured.  He  divided  his  command  before  leaving  the  val 
ley,  sending  Wharton  with  his  division  to  McMinnville. 
Early  on  the  4th,  we  left  our  camp  at  Dunlap  and  began  the 
ascent  of  Cumberland  Mountain  at  Kane's  Gap,  and  moved 
rapidly  on  the  direct  road  toward  McMinnville,  making  only 
one  short  halt  on  the  mountain  to  feed.  The  road  was  lined 
with  empty  boxes  and  cans,  and  dead  mules. 

General  Crook,  in  command  of  the  Second  Division, 
who  was  moving  on  a  road  north  of  us,  entered  McMinn 
ville  a  short  time  before  McCook,  but  neither  command  was 
able  to  prevent  the  capture  of  the  garrison,  consisting  mainly 
of  the  Fourth  Tennessee  Volunteers,  under  the  command  of 
Major  Patterson. 

After  the  capture  of  McMinnville  and  its  garrison  on 
the  3rd,  Wheeler  destroyed  all  government  stores  and  in 
the  most  brutal  manner  robbed  the  officers  and  men  of  their 
clothing,  blankets,  watches  and  money.  There  were  no  ar 
tillery  or  forts  to  defend  the  place,  and  the  small  force 
made  the  best  defense  they  could  against  great  odds,  losing 
seven  killed  and  thirty  wounded. 

Wheeler  left  McMinnville  for  Murfresboro,  closely  pur 
sued  by  the  divisions  of  Crook  and  McCook,  and  a  short  dis 
tance  from  McMinnville  he  was  overtaken  and  roughly 
handled  by  Crook's  division.  We  moved  through  Woodbury 
and  early  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  entered  Murfreesboro, 
all  tired  and  worn  out.  A  halt  was  made  long  enough  to 
rest  and  feed  our  jaded  horses.  WTieeler,  finding  Murfrees 
boro  too  strongly  garrisoned,  made  no  attempt  to  capture 
the  place,  but  cut  the  wire  and,  turning  south,  moved  toward 
Shelbyville.  Four  days'  rations  were  issued  to  the  men,  and 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  103 

at  I  o'clock  the  First  Tennessee  moved,  with  the  remainder 
of  the  division,  toward  Shelbyville,  bivouacking  for  the 
night  near  the  latter  place. 

At  Shelbyville,  Wheeler  divided  his  troops  into  three 
columns.  This  caused  some  little  delay  in  trying  to  find  the 
route  he  had  taken.  Mitchell  ordered  McCook  to  move  to 
Unionville  by  the  nearest  practicable  route.  On  reaching 
Unionville,  \ve  found  the  enemy  had  left  and  was  moving 
toward  Duck  River.  We  pursued  on,  and  at  night  crossed 
Duck  River  near  Caney  Springs,  and  camped  for  the  night. 
General  Crook  moved  his  division  through  Shelbyville  on 
the  morning  of  the  7th  and  out  along  the  road  leading  to 
Farmington,  and  when  near  the  latter  place  he  encountered 
Davidson's  division  and  drove  it  back  rapidly  toward  Farm 
ington. 

Here  Wheeler  had  taken  up  a  position  in  a  cedar  thicket, 
but  was  driven  out  after  some  severe  fighting  in  which  both 
sides  lost  quite  heavily.  Among  the  slain  on  the  Union  side 
was  the  brave  commander  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
third  Illinois  Volunteers — Colonel  James  Monroe.  On  the 
8th,  we  moved  in  pursuit  through  Lewisburg  and  Corners- 
vine.  The  First  Tennessee,  the  leading  regiment,  charged 
into  the  latter  place  at  dark  and  drove  the  enemy's  rear 
guard  out.  At  the  south  edge  of  town  we  captured  a  courier 
with  a  dispatch  from  Wheeler  to  one  of  his  division  com 
manders,  urging  him  to  .move  at  once  to  Pulaski,  where  he 
was  trying  to  unite  his  army.  The  command  was  halted  long 
enough  to  feed,  when  the  march  was  resumed  and  at  10 
p.  m.  camped  for  the  night  seven  miles  from  Pulaski. 

The  next  morning  the  whole  command  was  pushed  for 
ward  to  Pulaski,  where  we  learned  that  the  daring  raider  had 
moved  early  in  the  night  for  Lamb's  Ferry,  where  he  ex 
pected  to  cross  the  Tennessee  River.  All  the  weak  and 
lame  horses  were  thrown  out,  and  now  came  an  exciting 
race  toward  the  river.  The"  First  Tennessee  joined  in  the 
chase,  which  was  continued  throughout  the  day.  There  was 
abundant  evidence  of  a  hasty  flight,  the  road  being  lined  with 
broken-down  horses,  wagons,  artillery,  hats  and  guns. 


104  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIME  NT 

Wheeler  moved  through  Rogersville,  and  on  the  Qth 
crossed  Tennessee  River  at  Lamb's  Ferry.  The  Wheeler 
raid  was  not  a  very  great  success,  as  it  cost  him  most  all  of 
his  artillery,  besides  losing  heavily  in  prisoners  and  deserters. 
In  this  short  but  spirited  campaign  of  eight  days,  we 
marched  over  three  hundred  miles  with  but  little  sleep,  and 
the  most  of  that  distance  was  over  rough  mountain  roads. 

On  the  loth  we  left  Rogersville  and  by  slow  and  easy 
march  moved  through  Athens  to  Huntsville.  At  this  place 
Mitchell  learned  that  Roddy  was  moving  toward  Winches 
ter  with  a  division  of  cavalry.  McCook  was  ordered  to  pur 
sue  him  with  his  division,,  and  on  the  I2th  left  Huntsville 
and  pushed  forward  toward  New  Market,  with  Campbell's 
brigade  in  the  advance.  We  marched  ahead  at  a  rapid  gait 
and  toward  night  a  heavy  storm  came  up,  but  no  halt  was 
made,  the  march  being  continued  through  rain  and  blinding 
flashes  of  lightning.  The  Ninth  Pennsylvania  was  leading 
the  brigade  and  just  at  dark  encountered  Roddy,  who  had 
halted  for  the  storm  in  a  heavy  grove  of  timber. 

The  Ninth  Pennsylvania  was  dismounted  and  moved 
forward,  with  the  First  Tennessee  close  behind  as  a  sup 
port.  Roddy's  troops  opened  a  brisk  fire,  which  wTas 
answered  with  volleys  from  the  carbines  of  the  Ninth  Penn 
sylvania  at  close  range,  and  in  a  short  time  the  enemy  fell 
back  and  all  became  quiet.  It  was  exceedingly  dark  and 
the  clouds  still  continued  to  "weep"  during  the  night,  making 
our  bivouac  very  unpleasant. 

The  pursuit  was  continued  at  daylight  the  next  morning 
in  the  direction  of  New  Market.  At  the  latter  place  we 
learned  from  citizens  that  Roddy  had  at  least  six  hours  the 
start  of  us,  and  owing  to  the  thoroughly  exhausted  condi 
tion  of  our  horses  it  seemed  impossible  to  overtake  him. 
From  New  Market,  Roddy  turned  southwest,  and  after  pur 
suing  him  some  time  with  no  hope  of  overtaking  his  fast 
retreating  column  the  pursuit  was  abandoned.  There  were 
signs  of  great  haste  along  the  line  of  retreat  in  the  wray  of 
abandoned  wagons,  broken-down  horses  and  hats. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  105 

This  move  of  Roddy  was  no  doubt  intended  to  be  made 
in  connection  with  the  raid  made  by  Wheeler,  and  the  direc 
tion  he  was  moving  clearly  indicated  that  he  fully  intended 
to  strike  our  line  of  communication  at  or  near  Decherd,  but 
the  defeat  of  Wheeler  and  his  hasty  flight  out  of  Tennessee 
greatly  interfered  with  his  arrangements.  At  3  p.  m.  on  the 
1 3th,  the  pursuit  ended,  and  Mitchell  called  for  a  detail  of 
a  lieutenant  and  ten  men  to  take  an  order  to  Crook,  notifying 
him  to  discontinue  the  pursuit. 

Lieutenant  John  Roberts,  with  ten  picked  men  and 
horses  from  Company  C,  wras  detailed  for  this  hard  and  dan 
gerous  trip.  The  writer  was  one  of  the  number,  and  the 
lieutenant  and  his  trusty  men  at  once  set  out  on  their  perilous 
journey,  moving  rapidly  toward  Huntsville,  expecting  to 
find  Crook  somewhere  between  Huntsville  and  Athens.  We 
were  moving  along  the  main  road,  thinking  that  we  must  be 
Hearing  the  end  of  our  journey,  when  we  suddenly  ran 
into  about  an  equal  number  of  the  enemy,  who  were  just 
dismounting  at  a  farm-house  by  the  roadside.  We  imme 
diately  opened  fire  and  then  charged  them,  when  they  fled 
pell-mell  in  every  direction. 

Lieutenant  Roberts,  thinking  it  unwise  to  pursue  them, 
pushed  ahead  and  shortly  after  dark  found  General  Crook, 
and,  after  delivering  the  order,  started  on  the  return  trip. 
When  our  little  detachment  reached  the  point  where  we  left 
the  division,  we  found  it  had  moyed  away.  Looking  away  to 
our  left,  we  could  see  the  bright  light  of  a  camp,  but  were 
unable  to  determine  whether  it  was  friend  or  foe.  It  had 
been  raining  for  the  past  two  days,  and  the  marching  cav 
alry  had  converted  the  dust  into  mortar  by  the  constant  and 
steady  tramp  of  thousands  of  hoofs.  We  dismounted  and 
examined  the  tracks,  and  found  that  a  large  body  of  mounted 
troops  had  gone  in  the  direction  of  the  light.  We  moved  cau 
tiously  along  the  road  for  some  distance  and  again  dis 
mounted  and  made  another  examination.  Matters  were  get 
ting  desperate  by  this  time.  Could  it  be  that  we  were  fol 
lowing  close  on  the  rear  of  Roddy's  division?  We  moved 


106  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

a  little  distance  from  the  road  and  held  a  short  council  to 
decide  what  was  best  to  do  under  the  circumstances.  It  was 
decided  to  wait  for  the  return  of  daylight  and  then  move 
cautiously  toward  the  lights  that  were  still  dimly  burning. 

Lieutenant  Roberts  moved  his  little  "squad"  some  two 
to  three  hundred  feet  to  the  right  of  the  road  into  a  heavy 
body  of  timber  and  dismounted  his  men,  and  here  occurred 
an  interesting  "watch  meeting,"  each  one  watching  and  wait 
ing  for  the  great  luminary  of  the  world  to  light  up  our 
hiding-place.  There  was  no  sleep  for  this  little  band  of 
worn-out  soldiers,  and,  drawing  together,  we  discussed  in 
low  whispered  tones  our  situation. 

When  the  first  ray  of  light  began  to  streak  the  eastern 
sky,  we  mounted  and  moved  forward  in  the  direction  of  the 
lights,  and  soon  came  in  sight  of  the  advance  vedette,  who 
on  close  examination  proved  to  be  a  "Yankee" — just  the 
kind  \ve  were  looking  for — and  in  a  short  time  we  rode  into 
the  camp  of  the  First  Tennessee,  and  were  joyfully  received 
by  the  boys,  \vho  thought  that  \ve  were'  captured. 

On  the  1 4th,  the  First  Tennessee,  with  the  remainder 
of  the  division,  moved  to  Branchville  and  camped  for  the 
night.  This  march  was  made  in  a  drenching  rain,  making 
the  roads  almost  impassable  for  the  artillery  and  wagons,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  labor  of  our  jaded  horses  in  pulling 
through  the  muddy  roads. 

On  the  1 5th,  we  moved  through  Salem  and  went  into 
camp  near  Winchester,  where  the  men  and  horses  enjoyed 
a  short  season  of  rest.  The  total  loss  in  the  First  and  Sec 
ond  Divisions  in  the  Wheeler  raid  was  one  hundred  and 
twenty.  Wheeler's  loss  was  estimated  at  one  thousand 
killed,  captured  and  deserted,  and  six  pieces  of  artillery.  His 
greatest  loss  was  at  Farmington,  where  he  lost  eighty-six 
killed  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  wounded. 

General  Mitchell,  in  his  report  of  the  Wheeler  raid,  says  : 
"I  think  the  record  of  the  cavalry  service  during  the  entire 
war  cannot  show  a  more  severe  campaign  than  the  one  m/ 
command  has  just  closed.  There  was  scarcely  an  hour  dur- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  107 

ing  the  whole  pursuit  that  the  horses  were  unsaddled;  for 
days  and  nights  together  the  men  were  in  the  saddle,  almost 
constantly  on  the  march,  and  some  days  making  as  high  as 
fifty-three  and  fifty-seven  miles.  The  greater  part  of  the 
time  the  troops  were  out  of  rations,  and  our  hasty  movements 
gave  them  but  little  time  to  forage  on  the  country ;  that 
the  nights  were  very  cold  and  the  men  without  overcoats, 
and  I  think  the  campaign  challenges  comparison  with  any 
service  performed  during  the  war.  Yet  with  all  the  hard 
ships  and  severe  duty  necessarily  devolving  upon  the  men 
they  made  not  a  murmur." 

During  October,  several  important  changes  took  place 
in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  The  Fourth  Corps  was 
formed  by  the  consolidation  of  the  Twentieth  and  Twenty- 
first,  with  General  Gordon  Granger  commanding.  The  re 
serves  were  attached  to  the  Fourteenth  Corps.  General 
W.  S.  Rosecrans  was  relieved  and  General  George  H. 
Thomas  placed  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumber 
land.  On  the  1 8th  of  October,  the  military  Division  of  the 
Mississippi  was  created,  and  Major-General  U.  S.  Grant 
placed  in  command,  and  among  his  first  orders  to  Thomas, 
"The  Rock  of  Chickamauga,"  was :  "Hold  Chattanooga  at 
all  hazards.  I  will  be  there  as  soon  as  possible.  Please  in 
form  me  how  long  your  present  supplies  will  last  and  the 
prospect  for  keeping  them  up." 

The  answer  was :  "Two  hundred  and  four  thousand  and 
sixty-two  rations  in  storehouse.  Ninety-six  thousand  to 
arrive-  tomorrow,  as  all  trains  were  loaded  which  had  ar 
rived  at  Bridgeport  up  to  the  i6th ;  probably  three  hundred 
wagons.  We  will  hold  the  town  till  we  starve." 

The  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Corps  from  the  East,  under 
Hooker,  were  ordered  to  reinforce  Thomas  at  Chattanooga. 
About  the  2ist,  all  the  cavalry  was  ordered  to  Dechard  to 
be  reviewed  by  General  Grant,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Chat 
tanooga.  This  important  occasion  required  some  little  prep 
aration  and  cleaning  up,  after  which  we  returned  to  our 
camp. 


108  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

On  the  25th,  the  First  Tennessee  went  on  a  scout  to 
Estell  Springs  and  Tull.ahoma,  on  the  Nashville  &  Chatta 
nooga  railroad.  From  Tullahoma  the  regiment  turned  west 
and  moved  to  Lynchburg,  encamping  there  for  the  night. 
On  the  morning  of  the  27th,  the  First  Tennessee  returned 
to  camp  near  Winchester.  On  the  3Oth,  a  detachment  of  the 
regiment,  under  Lieutenant  Bowman,  of  Company  K,  was 
sent  to  Bellefont,  Alabama,  where  he  captured  six  men  and 
returned  to  camp  without  loss.  The  number  of  miles  trav 
eled  by  the  First  Tennessee  during  the  months  of  September 
and  October  reached  the  grand  total  of  seven  hundred  and 
fifty. 

Now  came  a  short  rest  spell,  the  first  since  leaving  Tri 
une  in  June,  giving  us  an  opportunity  to  clean  up  and  remove 
the  accumulated  dust  of  the  past  month.  Since  the  opening 
of  this  mid-summer  campaign,  the  First  Tennessee  had 
marched  almost  day  and  night  over  rough  mountain  roads, 
through  rain,  mud,  heat  and  dust,  and  during  a  part  of  that 
time  living  on  short  rations.  Men  and  horses  were  com 
pletely  worn  out,  consequently  we  all  enjoyed  this  season  of 
rest.  We  laid  out  a  regular  camp  and  again  enjoyed  the 
luxury  of  sleeping  in  our  little  "dog-tents,"  and  wearing 
blacked  boots  and  "boiled"  shirts.  During  our  stay  at  Win 
chester,  the  duty  was  exceedingly  light,  consequently  the 
men  and  horses  were  well  rested  and  recruited  by  the  time 
the  next  move  was  made. 

On  the  1 6th  of  November,  General  D.  S.  Stanley  was 
relieved  from  duty  as  chief  of  cavalry,  Army  of  the  Cum 
berland,  and  General  W.  L.  Elliott  placed  in  command. 

While  Bragg's  army  lay  in  front  of  Chattanooga,  Long- 
street,  one  of  his  most  trusted  lieutenants,  was  detached  and 
sent  to  operate  against  Burnside,  who  was  holding  East 
Tennessee  with  a  small  force,  with  his  headquarters  at  Knox- 
ville.  London,  thirty  miles  southwest  of  Knoxville,  was  held 
by  Burnside  as  an  outpost  of  his  army.  On  the  3rd  day  of 
November,  Longstreet  left  his  position  in  front  of  Chatta 
nooga  and  moved  up  the  valley  toward  Knoxville,  with  a 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  109 

force  of  at  least  twenty-five  thousand  men.  His  orders  were 
to  drive  Burnside  and  his  army  out  of  East  Tennessee. 

This  bold  move  of  Longstreet  caused  some  little  uneasi 
ness  about  the  safety  of  our  army,  as  it  was  a  long  distance 
from  its  base  of  supplies,  with  bad  roads  and  a  mountainous 
country  intervening.  The  country  had  been  stripped  of  sup 
plies  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  an  army  by  the  enemy, 
which  up  to  this  time  had  been  held  by  them.  But  the  loyal 
and  patriotic  people  of  East  Tennessee  came  to  the  rescue 
of  the  Union  army,  and  by  various  methods  succeeded  in 
keeping  Burnside's  army  from  starving  during  that  terrible 
winter  of  1863-4,  dividing  the  last  pound  of  bacon  and 
bushel  of  wheat  and  corn. 

On  the  1 8th,  McCook's  division  was  ordered  to  Alexan 
dria.  The  First  Tennessee  moved  with  the  division  through 
Shelby ville,  Murfreesboro  and  Milton.  From  the  latter 
place,  Campbell's  brigade  moved  to  Liberty  and  went  into 
camp  at  the  junction  of  the  Auburn  and  Liberty  turnpikes. 
The  remainder  of  the  division  was  ordered  to  Alexandria. 
While  the  regiment  lay  encamped  at  Liberty,  the  paymaster 
visited  our  camp  and  made  us  happy,  while  we  in  turn  made 
our  sutler  happy  by  paying  up  "old  scores"  and  purchasing 
gloves,  canned  goods,  cider  and  other  bottled  stuff  the  boys 
called  "fightin'  whiskey,"  paying  the  sutler  his  price,  which 
was  equal  to  the  "dutchman's"  one  per  cent.  Zack  Sanders 
was  our  sutler  and  Silas  Fitzwater  was  his  clerk,  both  good 
fellows  and  popular  with  the  boys.  Fresh  horses  and  a  new 
outfit  of  clothing  were  issued  to  the  men, and  from  all '  'signs' ' 
we  began  to  think  that  there  was  hard  work  before  us. 
Nothing  worthy  of  mention  occurred  while  the  regiment  lay 
at  Liberty. 

On  the  25th,  the  First  Tennessee  and  one  battalion  of 
the  Ninth  Pennsylvania,  all  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Brownlow,  were  detached  and  sent  to  Sparta  for  the  pur 
pose  of  driving  out  Champ  Ferguson,  Colonels  Hughes  and 
Murray,  who,  with  their  bands  of  irregular  soldiers,  were 
making  it  exceedingly  unpleasant  and  hot  for  the  Union 


110  HISTORY  O£  FIRST  REGIMENT 

people  in  that  locality  and  the  small  squads  of  Union  soldiers 
that  scouted  through  that  country.  This  movement  was 
unusually  hazardous  in  its  nature,  because  of  the  rough 
topography  of  the  country  and  the  dangerous  practice  Fer 
guson's  men  had  of  shooting  from  behind  trees.  The  day 
was  cold  and  the  march  made  through  a  drizzly  rain,  and 
when  we  reached  a  little  hamlet  called  Yankeetown,  our  ad 
vance  encountered  the  enemy.  After  several  hours  spent  in 
skirmishing  and  maneuvering,  the  enemy  fell  back,  and  we 
pushed  on  to  Caney  Fork,  a  tributary  of  Cumberland  River, 
which  we  found  past  fording. 

Colonel  Brownlow  found  one  small  flatboat  that  would 
scarcely  carry  fifteen  men  and  horses  at  a  trip.  It  looked 
dangerous,  and  at  the  same  time  it  seemed  like  a  slow  process 
to  attempt  to  take  the  men  and  horses  of  Brownlow's  com 
mand  across  in  so  frail  a  craft.  But  Brownlow  was  equal 
to  the  emergency.  He  set  a  detail  to  work  taking  the  men 
and  equipments  across  the  swollen  stream,  while  the  re 
mainder  unsaddled  the  horses  and  forced  them  to  swim  the 
river.  We  experienced  great  trouble  in  getting  our  horses 
in  the  notion  to  swim  the  river.  It  was  cold  and  chilly,  and 
when  we  led  them  into  the  icy  water  their  instinct  caused 
them  to  ''rebel,''"  and  many  a  poor  and  unruly  horse  was 
severely  chastised  before  he  could  be  induced  to  brave  the 
current  and  swim  to  the  opposite  shore.  The  crossing  was 
made,  however,  without  the  loss  of  a  man  and  but  few 
horses. 

Colonel  Brownlowr  moved  his  little  army  on  to  Sparta 
and  immediately  took  possession  of  the  town,  placing  his 
men  in  the  public  buildings  for  better  protection  in  case  of 
an  attack.  Sparta  is  located  near  the  foot  of  Cumberland 
Mountain,  and  is  surrounded  by  fertile  fields  and  beautiful 
scenery.  The  inhabitants  were  hostile,  and  we  were  given 
a  very  cold  reception  on  account  of  the  color  of  our  uniforms 
and  the  flags  we  carried.  Every  road  leading  into  Sparta 
was  well  picketed  to  prevent  surprise,  for  near  by  a  large 
force,  under  Champ  Ferguson,  lay  ready  to  swoop  down 
upon  us  if  we  were  caught  "napping." 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  Ill 

On  the  morning  of  the  3Oth,  Lieutenant  Bowman,  of 
Company  K,  with  a  small  detachment  from  the  regiment,  was 
sent  out  on  a  scout,  and  when  a  short  distance  from  camp 
was  attacked  by  a  large  force  under  Hughes  and  Ferguson. 
Lieutenant  Bowman  was  routed  and  driven  back,  with  a  loss 
of  four  killed,  and  three  wounded.  This  guerrilla  band 
showed  them  no  mercy,  but  like  savages  killed  all  they  cap 
tured.  When  Lieutenant  Bowman  reached  town  and  re 
ported  the  fact,  Colonel  Brownlow  ordered  immediate  pur 
suit  with  his  whole  command,  and  his  orders  were,  "Take 
no  prisoners."  A  few  miles  from  town  they  were  overtaken 
and  a  running  fight  ensued,  in  which  the  enemy  lost  nine 
killed  and  twenty  wounded.  The  loss  in  the  First  Tennessee 
in  this  day's  work  was  as  follows : 

Killed — Company  E,  Corporal  F.  M.  Carr;  Company 
F,  Sergeant  Oscar  D.  Steele;  Company  K,  Sergeant  D.  B. 
Phillips  and  Private  W.  A.  Headrick. 

Wounded — Company  A,  Private  W.  L.  Robinson ;  Com 
pany  K,  Corporal  Jacob  Smith  and  Private  D.  L.  Stanley. 
Stanley  died  a  few  days  later  of  his  wounds. 

Hughes,  in  his  report  of  the  engagement,  says :  "On 
the  3Oth,  a  fight  occurred  between  my  command  and  a  party 
of  Colonel  Brownlow's  (Tennessee)  regiment.  For  the 
numbers  engaged  the  fighting  was  very  severe."  *  *  * 

After  this  we  were  not  interrupted  any  more  by  this 
band  of  bushwhackers.  By  the  end  of  the  month  the  whole 
division  reached  Sparta,  where  it  remained  until  the  7th  of 
December.  In  this  engagement  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  lost 
Captain  T.  S.  McCahan  and  one  private  wounded. 


112  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

EAST  TENNESSEE  CAMPAIGN — CLIMBING  THE  CUMBERLAND. 
THE  FIRST  TENNESSEE  AT  HOME — A  LIVELY  SET-TO  AT 
DANDRIDGE — A  BRILLIANT  CHARGE — THE  SABER  FREELY 
USED — CHRISTMAS  EVE  IN  CAMP. 

On  the  28th,  a  sad  accident  occurred  at  the  same  ferry 
where  the  First  Tennessee  crossed  Caney  Fork.  The  Second 
Brigade  was  in  charge  of  our  division  train,  and  in  ferrying 
the  wagons  over,  seven  men  of  the  Second  Indiana  Cavalry 
were  drowned  by  the  foundering  of  the  boat. 

It  now  became  apparent  to  all  that  a  vigorous  campaign 
was  to  be  carried  on  all  winter.  While  we  were  lying  in 
camp  at  Sparta,  an  order  was  received  from  General  Thomas, 
directing  General  Elliott,  chief  of  cavalry,  Army  of  the  Cum 
berland,  to  march  at  once  with  the  First  and  Second  Bri 
gades,  the  Seventh  Kentucky  Cavalry,  Third  Brigade,  and 
Lilly's  Eighteenth  Indiana  Battery — all  of  the  First  Division 
— and  report  to  General  Burnside  at  Knoxville.  No  order 
ever  created  so  much  enthusiasm  in  the  First  Tennessee  as 
this  one  did.  This  movement  would  give  scores  of  the  men 
an  opportunity  to  visit  home  and  see  father,  mother,  wife, 
brother,  sister  and  sweetheart,  or  "the  girl  we  left  behind." 

Early  on  the  morning  of  December  7,  camp  was  broken, 
and  soon  the  long,  dark  lines  of  McCook's  division  could  be 
seen  slowly  winding  along  the  crooks  and  turns  of  the  old 
State  road  toward  Kingston.  We  "tackled"  old  Cumberland 
.Mountain  again  on  this  road,  and  after  a  hard  day's  march 
over  bad  roads  we  camped  for  the  night  near  Crossville. 

Reveille  was  sounded  at  4  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and 
after  a  hasty  breakfast  the  column  was  again  set  in  motion, 
and,  descending  the  mountain,  we  bivouacked  near  Post  Oak 


LIEUTENANT   F.    B.    SELF. 
Commissary  of  Subsistence 


JAMES    RAY,    BUG-LEK   OF   COMPANY    K 


TENNESSEE:  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  113 

Springs.  The  next  day  the  whole  division  moved  to  King 
ston,  where  it  remained  for  two  days,  waiting  for  the  wagons 
to  close  up,  finding  at  this  place  plenty  of  forage  for  the 
horses.  On  the  I4th,  we  were  again  in  the  saddle,  and  after 
a  disagreeable  march  of  twenty-five  miles  over  bad  roads 
and  through  a  cold,  drizzly  rain,  we  camped  in  Hardin  Val 
ley,  five  miles  from  Ball  Camp. 

We  were  now  within  fifteen  miles  of  Knoxville,  and  at 
7  a.  m.  on  the  I5th,  the  line  of  march  was  taken  up  and  when 
the  command  reached  Third  Creek,  five  miles  from  Knox 
ville,  General  McCook  halted  his  division  for  a  short  time, 
to  allow  the  line  to  close  up  and  get  ready  for  the  grand  entry 
into  Knoxville.  General  McCook  gave  the  First  Tennessee 
the  honor  of  leading  his  division  through  Knoxville,  it  being 
the  home  of  Colonel  Brownlow  and  many  of  his  men.  The 
band  of  the  Second  Indiana  Cavalry  was  ordered  forward  to 
the  head  of  the  column,  and  the  march  resumed. 

We  entered  Knoxville  by  the  Middlebrook  and  Clinton 
roads,  and  on  the  range  of  hills  just  west  of  town  we  passed 
through  Longstreet's  main  line  of  works.  Shortly  after 
passing  this  point,  we  caught  sight  of  Fort  Sanders  and 
Benjamin's  "dogs  of  war,"  which  were  still  peeping  through 
the  embrasures,  looking  bold  and  defiant.  This  fort  had 
been  furiously  assaulted  by  Longstreet's  troops  on  the  2Qth 
of  November,  in  which  they  were  repulsed  with  severe  loss. 
The  huge  forts  and  the  long  line  of  new-looking  earthworks 
that  crowned  the  crests  of  the  hills  and  ridges  that  almost 
encircle  the  town  bore  the  marks  of  battle  and  told  in  silent 
language  that  "past  events  had  cast  their  shadows  behind." 

We  proudly  entered  our  native  town  about  3  p.  m.,  and 
marched  down  Gay  street  in  platoons,  with  colors  flying  and 
bands  playing,  and  were  warmly  greeted  by  the  loyal  people 
of  Knoxville  who  lined  the  streets  to  witness  the  parade  of 
McCook's  veterans.  Where  Reservoir  street  crossed  Gay, 
we  passed  through  Burnside's  main  line  of  works,  the  yellow 
clay  towering  high  above  our  heads.  General  Burnside  made 
his  headquarters  during  the  siege  in  the  old  Crozier  mansion 


114  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

on  Gay  street,  but  was  relieved  a  few  days  before  we  reached 
Knoxville,  and  we  were  reviewed  by  his  successor,  General 
John  G.  Foster.  Turning  east  on  Cumberland  street,  we 
passed  the  home  of  Rev.  W.  G.  Brownlow,  whose  son  Jim 
was  colonel  of  the  regiment.  The  "parson" — as  he  was 
familiarly  called — and  his  family  came  out  and  witnessed 
with  a  great  deal  of  interest  the  regiment  as  it  marched  by, 
under  the  command  of  its  youthful  colonel.  We  gave  the 
"parson"  and  his  interesting  family  three  rousing  cheers  as 
we  marched  by.  Possibly  no  family  in  all  East  Tennessee 
had  been  so  cruelly  and  unmercifully  treated  by  the  dis 
loyal  people  and  bands  of  Confederate  soldiers,  who  were 
urged  to  call  and  pass  insults  upon  the  Brownlow  family. 
But  with  all  the  cruel  treatment,  this  loyal  and  patriotic 
family  bore  it  all,  resented  insults,  defended  the  "old  flag," 
and  never  for  once  did  they  cease  their  devotion  to  the  Union 
and  love  for  the  glorious  old  flag  that  today  floats  proudly 
over  a  free  people,  the  sight  of  which  every  true  American 
should  respect  and  honor.  John  was  also  in  the  Union 
army,  he  being  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Ninth  Tennessee 
Cavalry. 

We  had  marched  nearly  three  hundred  miles,  over  bad 
roads,  crossing  mountains  and  fording  rivers  and  swollen 
streams,  bringing  with  us  our  artillery  and  wagons  without 
loss,  to  find  the  siege  of  Knoxville  raised  and  the  Confed 
erates  under  Longstreet  gone,  he  having  left  on  the  5th  of 
December  and  moved  northeast,  toward  Rutledge.  Long- 
street  had  learned  of  Bragg's  defeat  at  Missionary  Ridge  on 
the  25th  of  November,  and  determined  to  attack  Burnside 
in  his  works  before  Grant  could  reinforce  him. 

He  selected  Fort  Sanders,  one  of  the  strongest  and  best 
built  forts  in  Knoxville,  as  the  point  where  the  attack  should 
be  made.  It  was  named  for  the  young  and  gallant  Ken- 
tuckian  who  was  Burnside's  chief  of  cavalry,  who  gave  up 
his  life  early  in  the  siege  a  short  distance  south  of  the  fort. 
This  fort  was  laid  out  by  Captain  O.  M.  Poe,  chief  engineer 
Army  of  the  Ohio,  and  was  on  a  hill  just  west  of  the 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  115 

University  of  Tennessee.  Captain  Poe,  in  his  report  of  the 
East  Tennessee  campaign,  gives  the  following  description  of 
Fort  Sanders : 

"It  is  a  bastioned  earthwork,  built  upon  an  irregular 
quadrilateral,  the  sides  of  which  are  respectively  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty-five  yards  southern  front,  ninety-five  yards 
western  front,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  yards  northern 
front  and  eightv-five  yards  eastern  front.  The  eastern  front 
was  entirely  open,  and  is  to  be  closed  with  a  stockade ;  the 
southern  front  was  about  half  done ;  the  western  front  was 
finished,  except  cutting  the  embrasures,  and  the  northern 
front  was  nearly  finished.  Each  bastion  was  intended  to 
have  a  pan  coupe.  The  bastion  attacked  was  the  only  one 
that  was  completely  finished.  The  ditch  in  front  of  the  fort 
was  twelve  feet  in  width  and  in  many  places  as  much  as 
eight  feet  deep.  The  irregularity  of  the  site  was  such  that 
the  bastion  angles  were  very  heavy,  the  relief  of  the  lightest 
one  being  twelve  feet.  The  relief  of  the  one  attacked  was 
about  thirteen  feet,  which,  together  with  the  depth  of  the 
ditch,  say  seven  feet,  made  a  height  of  twenty  feet  from  the 
bottom  of  the  ditch  to  the  interior  crest." 

The  garrison  of  Fort  Sanders  on  the  morning  (Sunday) 
of  the  assault  consisted  of  Lieutenant  S.  N.  Benjamin's 
Battery  E,  Second  United  States  Artillery,  with  four  20- 
pounder  Parrott  guns ;  Captain  W.  W.  Buckley's  Battery 
D,  First  Rhode  Island  Artillery,  four  12-pounder  Napoleons 
and  two  three-inch  steel  guns ;  and  one  section  of  Captain 
Jacob  Roemers  Battery  L,  Second  New  York  Light  Artil 
lery;  the  Seventy-ninth  New  York  Highlanders,  and  por 
tions  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Massachusetts  and  Twentieth 
Michigan,  one  company  from  the  One  Hundredth  Pennsyl 
vania  and  Second  Michigan — in  all  about  three  hundred  men, 
commanded  by  First  Lieutenant  Benjamin,  Second  United 
States  Artillery. 

In  addition  to  the  deep  ditch  in  front  of  the  fort,  tele 
graph  wire  was  stretched  from  stump  to  stump,  so  that  when 
the  enemy  moved  forward  on  their  wild  charge  they  were 


116  HISTORY  OF  T3RST  REGIMENT 

tripped  by  the  wire,  producing  great  confusion  in  their  ranks 
as  they  tumbled  and  fell  in  confused  heaps.  This  plan  of  ob 
struction  was  the  work  of  the  fertile  brain  of  Mr.  J.  B. 
Hoxie,  a  loyal  and  patriotic  citizen  of  Knoxville,  now  de 
ceased,  who  first  suggested  it  to  Burnside.  The  hero  of  the 
East  Tennessee  campaign  saw  it  was  a  good  suggestion,  and 
ordered  it  put  into  execution. 

Fort  Sanders  was  evidently  the  key  to  the  defense,  and 
against  it  Longstreet — "Lee's  "old  war-horse" — hurled  his 
trusted  veterans.  It  is  not  generally  known  that  General 
Leadbetter,  chief  engineer  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  who 
reached  Longstreet's  headquarters  on  November  25th,  sug 
gested,  after  a  hasty  inspection  and  reconnoissance  of  the 
entire  Union  line,  that  in  his  opinion  Mabry  Hill  was  the 
weakest  point  and  promised  the  best  result  in  case  of  an 
assault.  But  after  another  inspection  on  the  27th,  by  Long- 
street,  Leadbetter,  Jenkins  and  Alexander,  Longstreet's  chief 
of  artillery,  all  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  ground  over 
which  the  troops  would  have  to  pass  was  too  much  exposed 
and  the  distance  to  be  overcome  under  fire  was  too  great, 
consequently  it  was  abandoned. 

The  assault  was  made  by  three  brigades  of  McLaw's 
division,  composed  of  Georgia,  Mississippi  and  South  Caro 
lina  troops.  Longstreet  ordered  the  assault  to  be  made  in 
two  columns,  thinking  that  the  spirit  of  rivalry  between  the 
two  brigades  that  were  to  lead  the  assault — one  being  from 
Georgia  and  the  other  from  Mississippi — would  be  sufficient 
cause  to  urge  them  to  their  Avork  with  increased  dash  and 
courage.  Woford's  brigade,  now  commanded  by  Colonel 
vS.  Z  Ruff,  Eighteenth  Georgia,  was  composed  of  the  Six 
teenth,  Eighteenth  and  Twenty-fourth  Georgia,  Cobb's  and 
Phillipps'  Legion  and  the  Third  Georgia  Battalion  of  Sharp 
shooters.  Humphries  Brigade^  Thirteenth,  Seventeenth, 
Eighteenth  and  Twenty-first  Mississippi.  These  two  bri 
gades  were  supported  by  portions  of  Anderson's  and  Bryan's 
brigades,  composed  of  Georgians  and  South  Carolinians,  all 
well-seasoned  veterans. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  117 

The  troops  were  formed  for  the  assault  at  4  o'clock 
Sunday  morning,  November  29.  Rain  had  fallen  during  the 
week  and  on  the  27th  it  turned  cold.  The  water  in  the  ditch 
was  covered  with  ice  and  the  steep  sides  of  Fort  Sanders 
were  also  frozen,  making  it  almost  impossible  for  the  men 
to  gain  a  foothold  in  their  vain  attempt  to  scale  the  slippery 
parapet.  A  dense  fog  hung  lazily  about  the  river,  completely 
shutting  out  the  movements  of  both  armies  on  this  part  of 
the  line. 

About  daybreak  on  the  2Qth,  the  enemy  suddenly  opened 
a  terrific  artillery  fire  on  Fort  Sanders,  which  was  immedi 
ately  responded  to  by  the  Union  guns  all  along  the  lines.  In 
a  short  time  the  enemy's  fire  slackened  and  then  from  the 
direction  of  the  railroad  the  enemy  moved  up  the  gentle 
slope  toward  the  fort,  while  the  guns  of  Benjamin,  Buckley 
and  Roemer  poured  out  "thunder  and  lightning."  As  they 
approached  the  fort,  the  well-known  rebel  yell  was  heard 
above  the  roar  of  battle,  then  the  black-throated  monsters 
from  the  fort,  double  and  triple-shotted,  pierced  the  advanc 
ing  column  through  and  through,  making  wide  gaps,  which 
were  quickly  filled. 

On  they  came  with  a  yell,  tumbling  and  falling  when 
the  wires  were  reached,  while  only  a  few  rods  away  the 
deadly  volleys  from  the  muskets  were  cutting  them1  down 
like  grain  before  the  reaper.  At  the  ditch  they  paused  for 
a  moment  only,  but,  forcing  their  way  across  the  ditch,  they 
attempted  to  gain  the  fort  by  climbing  its  icy  sides.  A  few 
gained  the  crest,  to  be  shot  clown  and  roll  back  into  the 
ditch,  which  was  full  of  men,  some  yelling,  others  groaning. 
Now  the  real  destruction  came,  when  the  2O-pound  shells, 
with  fuse  cut  short,  were  lighted  and  tossed  over  the  parapet 
into  the  crowded  ditch.  The  enemy,  being  unable  to  cap 
ture  the  fort, 'now  broke  and  fled  to  the  rear,  leaving  hun 
dreds  of  killed  and  wounded  around  the  fort  and  in  the  ditch. 
Others,  finding  it  useless  to  keep  up  the  fight  and  being 
unable  to  get  away,  surrendered. 

E.  A.  Pollard,  the  great  Southern  historian,  makes  the 


118  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

following  mention  of  the  battle  of  Fort  Sanders :  "There 
was  a  spatter  of  blood  and  brains.  In  this  terrible  ditch  the 
dead  were  piled  eight  and  ten  deep.  In  comparatively  an 
instant  of  time  we  lost  seven  hundred  in  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners.  Never,  excepting  at  Gettysburg,  was  there  in 
the  history  of  the  war  a  disaster  adorned  with  the  glory  of 
such  devout  courage  as  Longstreet's  repulse  at  Knoxville." 

The  official  returns  of  Longstreet's  assistant  adjutant- 
general  show  the  following  loss  in  the  assault  on  Fort  San 
ders  :  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  killed,  four  hundred  and 
fifty-eight  wounded,  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  cap 
tured,  making  a  total  of  eight  hundred  and  thirteen.  Some 
thing  over  one  thousand  stands  of  arms  fell  into  our  hands, 
and  three  battle-flags.  The  prisoners  captured  represented 
eleven  different  regiments.  The  Union  loss  was  eight  killed 
and  five  wounded.  The  loss  in  McLaw's  division  showed 
the  splendid  fighting  qualities  of  his  officers  and  men  in  their 
attempt  to  capture  the  fort. 

Among  the  officers  of  higher  rank  who  fell  in  the  as 
sault  and  in  the  ditch  were :  Colonel  Ruff,  Eighteenth  Geor 
gia,  commanding  Woford's  brigade ;  Colonel  McElroy, 
Thirteenth  Mississippi ;  Colonel  Thomas,  Sixteenth  Georgia, 
besides  majors,  captains  and  lieutenants.  Lieutenant-Col 
onel  J.  C.  Fiser,  of  the  Seventeenth  Mississippi,  lost  an  arm 
while  attempting  to  scale  the  parapet  of  Fort  Sanders.  The 
assaulting  column  numbered  about  four  thousand  men  and 
was  formed  for  the  assault  near  where  the  Knoxville  Woolen 
Mills  now  stand. 

Longstreet  had  promised  his  men  that  they  should  dine 
in  Knoxville  on  the  29th,  but  it  turned  out  that  not  more 
than  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunity,  and  among  them  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  A.  G. 
O'Brien,  of  the  Thirteenth  Mississippi  Volunteers,  a  brother 
of  Mrs.  W.  G.  Brownlow.  He  bravely  forced  his  way  up  the 
steep  wall  of  the  fort  and  was  captured  inside.  Burnside 
granted  Longstreet  a  truce,  in  order  that  he  might  care  for 
his  wounded  and  bury  the  dead.  Longstreet  recalled  his 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  119 

broken  and  shattered  columns,  withdrew  his  army  from 
Knoxville  and  moved  into  upper  East  Tennessee,  where  his 
army  spent  the  remainder  of  the  winter,  subsisting  wholly 
on  the  country.  There  were  numerous  engagements  and 
skirmishes  during  the  winter,  and  toward  spring  he  left  Ten 
nessee  and  rejoined  Lee  in  Virginia. 

Let  us  now  return  and  follow  the  movements  of  the 
cavalry  under  McCook.  On  the  I5th  of  December,  the  day 
of  our  arrival  in  Knoxville,  General  Elliott,  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  cavalry,  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  who  had  ac 
companied  McCook's  division  to  East  Tennessee,  reported 
to  General  Foster,  who  had  succeeded  General  Burnside  in 
the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  with  headquarters 
at  Knoxville.  Foster  ordered  Elliott  to  immediately  cross 
Holston  River  and  attack  the  enemy's  cavalry  under  Martin, 
at  or  near  Morristown. 

In  pursuance  of  the  above  orders,  and  without  delay, 
the  First  Tennessee,  with  the  remainder  of  the  division,  left 
Knoxville  and  moved  northeast  toward  Strawberry  Plains. 
We  crossed  the  Holston  on  the  I5th  at  Armstrong's  Ford, 
which  was  barely  fordable  and  rising,  and  went  into  camp  a 
few  miles  beyond.  Reveille  called  us  at  4  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  and  at  8  o'clock  we  resumed  the  march,  reaching 
Strawberry  Plains,  on  the  East  Tennessee  railroad  and  seven 
teen  miles  from  Knoxville,  where  we  bivouacked  for  the 
night.  At  this  point,  Elliott  reported  to  General  S.  D.  Stur- 
giss,  chief  of  cavalry,  Army  of  the  Ohio,  who  by  virtue  of 
his  rank  took  command  of  all  the  cavalry  then  operating  in 
East  Tennessee. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  ever-memorable  East 
Tennessee  campaign,  so  well  remembered  by  the  survivors  of 
the  First  Tennessee.  After  one  day's  rest  at  Strawberry 
Plains,  the  division  moved  on  the  ijth  to  McKinney's  Ford, 
where  it  crossed  the  Holston,  which  was  deep,  and  after  a 
hard  and  disagreeable  day's  march  went  into  camp  near 
Elaine's  Cross  Roads.  Here  we  found  the  most  of  our  army 
*n  camp,  with  but  little  to  eat,  standing  around  their  camp- 


120  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

fires  "thawing  out"  one  side,  while  the  other  froze,  the 
weather  being  cold  and  disagreeable,  with  now  and  then  a 
light  fall  of  snow.  The  farmers  in  their  crippled  condition 
had  hardly  produced  enough  to  keep  the  "wolf"  from  their 
own  doors,  much  less  furnish  supplies  for  two  armies. 

The  next  day  we  moved  forward  to  Richland  Creek, 
and  went  into  camp  along  the  southwest  side.  Stone's  Mill 
on  Richland  Creek  was  kept  busy  day  and  night,  grinding  up 
whatever  amount  of  grain  our  foragers  could  find  for  the 
use  of  the  army.  Just  a  short  distance  north  of  us  lay  the 
Confederate  army  under  Longstreet,  hungry,  shoeless  and 
thinly  clad,  and  very  much  discouraged,  their  future  being 
dark  and  gloomy.  The  weather  still  continued  to  be  cold, 
the  mercury  "tumbling"  away  below  the  freezing  point  and 
was  rapidly  approaching  zero.  This  sudden  freeze  made  the 
roads  exceedingly  rough,  so  that  our  movements  were  both 
difficult  and  dangerous,  but  with  the  elements  around  us  and 
the  enemy  in  front  of  us,  we  tried  to  make  ourselves  as  com 
fortable  as  possible  under  the  circumstances. 

Karly  on  the  morning  of  the  23rd,  we  left  camp  at 
Richland  Creek  and,  recrossing  the  Holtson  at  Nance's  Ford, 
moved  up  the  valley  to  New  Market,  a  pleasant  little  village 
whose  inhabitants  were  intensely  loyal.  This  was  the  home 
of  Russell  Thornburgh,  the  senior  major  of  the  regiment. 
This  was  a  hard  and  disagreeable  day's  march,  being  made 
over  bad  roads,  and  late  at  night  we  went  into  camp  about 
two  miles  beyond  town  on  the  Dandridge  road,  cold,  weary 
and  hungry. 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th,  Campbell's  brigade  and 
Lilly's  battery  were  ordered  to  Dandridge  to  attack  a  Con 
federate  force  at  that  place.  Reveille  was  sounded  at  3  a.  m., 
and  soon  the  whole  camp  was  astir ;  the  camp-fires  were  re 
kindled,  and,  after  partaking  of  a  hasty  breakfast,  we 
mounted  and  marched  toward  Dandridge.  Colonel  Gar- 
rard's  brigade  of  cavalry,  Army  of  the  Ohio,  moved  on  the 
Bull's  Gap  road  and  was  to  unite  with  Campbell's  brigade 
near  Dandridge.  We  crossed  Bay's  Mountain  at  Flat  Gap, 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  121 

and  at  9  a.  m.  reached  Dandridge  and  found  the  place  un 
occupied.  Campbell  halted  his  brigade  at  the  far  edge  of 
town,  to  await  the  arrival  of  Garrard's  brigade. 

After  waiting  about  one  hour,  Campbell  received  a  dis 
patch  from  Garrard  to  advance  at  once  on  the  Bull's  Gap 
road  to  his  support,  as  the  enemy  were  advancing  on  his 
brigade.  The  First  Tennessee,  under  Colonel  Brownlow, 
was  ordered  to  advance,  which  it  did,  and  soon  commenced 
skirmishing  with  Russell's  brigade.  Lilly's  battery  was 
placed  in  position  and  the  Second  Michigan  ordered  to  sup 
port  it.  After  driving  the  enemy  back  a  short  distance,  they 
opened  on  Brownlow  with  artillery,  and  at  the  same  time 
advanced  their  whole  line  and  were  pressing  his  regiment  so 
close  that  Campbell  sent  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  and  one 
section  of  Lilly's  battery  forward  on  the  gallop  to  the  support 
of  Colonel  Brownlow. 

A  detachment  of  the  First  Tennessee  charged  the 
enemy's  dismounted  skirmishers,  killing  three  and  capturing 
fifteen  prisoners.  The  enemy  ran  forward  three  guns  and 
opened  a  vigorous  fire,  but  fortunately  very  few  of  our  men 
were  wounded.  The  two  guns  of  Lilly's  battery  were  placed 
on  a  hill  near  Hay's  Ferry,  about  four  miles  from  Dandridge, 
and  after  shelling  them  vigorously  for  a  short  time  the  enemy 
fell  back  and  all  became  quiet  on  this  part  of  the  line.  Camp 
bell  received  an  order  from  Garrard  requesting  him  to  move 
forward  on  the  same  road,  saying  that  his  brigade  would 
move  on  a  parallel  road  to  his  left.  Colonel  Campbell  im 
mediately  moved  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  in  column  along 
the  road  and  the  First  Tennessee  in  line  of  battle  on  the  right 
of  the  road,  the  right  of  the  regiment  resting  on  French 
Broad  River;  the  Second  Michigan  was  dismounted  and 
placed  in  line  to  support  the  battery. 

The  First  Tennessee  and  Ninth  Pennsylvania  had  ad 
vanced  about  half  a  mile  when  Campbell  ordered  them  to 
halt,  he  having  received  an  order  from  General  Sturgis  to 
return  to  New  Market.  At  this  moment,  heavy  firing  was 
heard  in  his  rear,  where  the  remaining  artillery,  ambulances, 


122  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

pack-train  and  cooks  were  stationed  under  an  escort  of  the 
Second  Michigan.  This  attack  was  made  by  Crew's  Geor 
gia  brigade,  who  succeeded  by  overwhelming  numbers  in 
capturing  two  guns  and  scattering  the  pack-train  and  cooks 
in  all  directions.  The  remainder  of  the  Second  Michigan 
and  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  were  ordered  to  charge  and 
recapture  the  guns. 

The  order  was  executed  with  promptness  and  great  gal 
lantry,  and  after  a  fierce  struggle  in  which  the  saber  was 
freely  used,  the  guns  were  recaptured  and  the  enemy  driven 
from  the  field,  with  severe  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  and 
fifteen  prisoners.  Among  the  former  was  Major  Bales,  com 
manding  the  Sixth  Georgia,  who  fell  among  the  captured 
guns.  Campbell's  brigade  was  in  a  critical  position — one 
brigade  in  front  and  one  in  the  rear,  and  no  tidings  from 
Garrard.  Colonel  Campbell  sent  to  Garrard  for  reinforce 
ments,  but  the  aide  was  unable  to  find  him.  Campbell's  bri 
gade  was  composed  of  well-seasoned  veterans,  and  on  that 
day  did  not  exceed  sixteen  hundred  men. 

The  only  way  of  escape  was  by  falling  back  by  a  rough, 
hilly  road  to  our  left.  We  had  for  a  commander  an  officer 
of  undaunted  courage,  cool  and  self-possessed  in  action — a 
commander  who  did  not  lose  his  head  when  he  got  into  a 
tight  place.  The  artillery,  ambulances  and  led  horses  were 
ordered  into  the  woods  and  moved  as  rapidly  as  possible 
toward  the  New  Market  road,  closely  followed  by  the  Ninth 
Pennsylvania  and  the  First  Tennessee.  The  Second  Michi 
gan  was  dismounted  and  covered  the  rear.  In  this  way 
Campbell  moved  his  brigade  back  in  good  order  for  some 
distance,  the  enemy  all  the  time  pressing  hard  our  rear  and 
left  flank. 

The  Ninth  Pennsylvania  was  ordered  on  this  flank  and 
soon  relieved  it.  At  the  same  time,  Lilly's,  battery  was 
placed  in  position  some  distance  beyond,  with  the  First 
Tennessee  in  line  as  a  support.  The  enemy  still  continued  to 
press  our  rear,  and  when  the  Second  Michigan  and  the  Ninth 
Pennsylvania  reached  our  position,  Lilly  opened  a  vigorous 


TENNESSEE;  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  123 

fire  from  his  three-inch  Rodmans,  which  checked  the  enemy 
for  a  short  time  only. 

The  enemy  again  advanced,  and  with  superior  num 
bers  attempted  to  capture  our  battery  and  drive  us  from  the 
field.  The  fighting  became  severe  all  along  the  line,  and  it 
seemed  that  Campbell's  little  brigade  would  be  swept  from 
the  field.  The  enemy  pressed  on  close  up  to  our  guns,  amid 
a  perfect  tempest  of  bullets  from  the  carbines  of  the  First 
Tennessee,  while  grape  and  canister  flew  thick  and  fast 
from  Lilly's  "black-throated  monsters."  Campbell  now 
ordered  the  First  Tennessee,  under  Colonel  Brownlow,  to 
charge  the  enemy  with  saber,  which  he  did,  driving  them 
back  in  great  confusion,  but  not  without  serious  loss  in  his 
own  ranks.  The  severe  fire  of  the  other  two  regiments  at 
close  range  and  the  skill  with  which  Lilly's  guns  were  hand 
led,  seemed  to  satisfy  the  enemy,  as  they  made  no  further  at 
tempt  to  press  our  lines,  but  fell  back,  and  at  dark  we 
returned  to  New  Market. 

Colonel  Campbell,  in  his  report  of  the  battle  of  Dan- 
dridge,  says :  "I  then  ordered  the  First  Tennessee  Cavalry 
to  charge  with  sabers,  which  they  executed  most  nobly, 
driving  the  enemy's  line  over  a  fence,  with  severe  loss  to 
their  ranks." 

The  loss  of  the  First  Tennessee  in  this  engagament  was 
eleven  killed  and  wounded  and  seven  missing,  as  follows : 

COMMISSIONED  OFFICERS. 

Wounded — Major  Russell  Thornburgh,  commanding 
First  Battalion ;  Captain  Paul  Sturm,  Company  H. 

ENLISTED  MEN. 

Killed — Company  D,  Private  William  J.  Robertson; 
Company  E,  Private  Pleasant  Anderson ;  Company  G.  Pri 
vate  Jacob  I.  Mallory. 

Mortally  Wounded — Company  A,  Aaron  Fields,  died 
in  hospital  at  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  February  20,  1864;  Com 
pany  K,  Private  Allen  Bennett,  died  of  wounds,  date  un 
known. 


124  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Wounded — Company  F,  Private  Samuel  H.  Humbard; 
Company  I,  Privates  Jacob  Rector  and  G.  F.(  Johnson ;  Com 
pany  L,  Sergeant  Isaac  F.  Cartwright. 

Company  C  was  not  in  this  engagement,  it  being  ab 
sent  guarding  Dyer's  Ferry,  on  Holston  River.  The  regi 
ment  lost  thirty-two  horses  killed  and  wounded.  The  other 
two  regiments  lost  about  the  same  number  of  men,  and  the 
battery  one.  One  of  Lilly's  guns  was  disabled  by  the  break 
ing  of  an  axle.  It  was  spiked  and  left  on  the  field,  but  was 
recaptured  by  our  division  at  Fair  Garden,  Tennessee,  the 
27th  of  January,  1864. 

This  short  but  spirited  engagement  is  known  in  history 
as  the  battle  of  Dandridge,  and  was  fought  on  the  24th  day 
of  December,  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  B.  A.  Blackburn,  a  true 
Unionist,  who  so  kindly  took  care  of  our  wounded.  Though 
our  little  brigade  had  contended  all  day  against  superior 
numbers,  yet  the  enemy  seemed  well  satisfied  with  the  pun 
ishment  inflicted  upon  them,  by  allowing  us  to  withdraw 
from  the  field  at  dark  and  quietly  march  back  to  New  Mar 
ket.  This  was  a  hard  day's  work.  We  had  been  in  the 
saddle  since  early  in  the  morning  without  food ;  had  marched 
and  counter-marched  over  thirty-five  miles  of  road,  fought 
one  battle,  and  at  night  were  again  on  the  "old  camp 
ground." 

This  was  a  sad  Christmas  Eve  to  us,  and  as  we  gath 
ered  around  the  camp-fires  to  discuss  the  events  of  the  day, 
many  an  unbidden  tear  could  be  seen  trickling  down  the 
tanned  faces  of  the  men  when  reference  was  made  to  those 
who  had  fallen  in  battle  during  the  day.  While  great  prep 
arations  were  being  made  in  our  far-off  homes  for  a  grand 
feast  for  the  next  day,  the  men  of  the  First  Tennessee  were 
thinking  of  the  feast  in  store  for  them  the  following  day,  as 
the  regiment  was  under  orders  to  march  at  daylight  and 
could  not  tell  how  "Merry  Christmas"  would  be  spent. 

Late  at  night  we  lay  down  on  the  cold  ground,  without 
tents,  and,  wrapping  our  blankets  around  us  to  keep  out 
winter's  chilly  blasts,  were  soon  off  into  dreamland,  while 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  125 

visions  of  roast  turkey,  plum  pudding  and  pumpkin  pie 
flitted  before  us,  the  weary  vedette  on  the  lonely  picket-post 
standing  through  the  stillness  of  the  night,  guarding  the 
army  as  it  slept. 


126  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HOW  CHRISTMAS  WAS  SPENT — BATTLE  OF  MOSSY  CREEK — • 
DEATH  OF  CAPTAIN  CANNON  AND  IJEUT.  COX — A  GAL 
LANT  CHARGE — INDIAN  FIGHTING  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS 
— CAPTURING  A  WAGON  TRAIN. 

McCook's  division  moved  at  daylight  on  the  morning 
of  the  25th,  along  the  Mossy  Creek  road,  with  LaGrange's 
Second  Brigade  in  the  adavnce,  and  when  within  two  and  a 
half  miles  of  Mossy  Creek,  LaGrange  encountered  the  ad 
vance  of  Armstrong's  division.  After  a  brief  skirmish  the 
enemy  fell  back,  Lilly's  battery  firing  a  few  shots  to  hurry 
them  along.  On  reaching  Mossy  Creek,  McCook  halted  his 
division  and  formed  it  in  line  of  battle  across  the  valley  a 
short  distance  below  town. 

The  First  Tennessee  was  formed  in  line  to  the  left  of 
the  railroad.  A  skirmishers'  line  was  thrown  out,  and  the 
men  ordered  to  dismount,  and  in  this  position  we  remained 
during  the  day.  It  was  a  cold,  raw  day,  with  a  keen,  cut 
ting  wind  sweeping  up  the  valley  like  a  Kansas  cyclone,  and 
as  no  fires  were  allowed  we  passed  a  very  uncomfortable 
day.  This  was  our  second  "Merry  Christmas"  spent  in  the 
field,  and  as  we  looked  back  we  remembered  that  just  one 
short  year  ago  we  were  being  transported  down  the  Ohio 
River  to  Louisville. 

This  was  a  day  of  merriment  and  rejoicing  all  over  the 
land.  Great  feasts  were  to  be  served  in  cheerful  homes 
around  blazing  fires,  but  soldiers  in  the  field  were  differ 
ently  situated,  for  sometimes  they  would  feast  for  several 
days  in  succession  and  then  starve  as  many.  But  on  this 
occasion  the  First  Tennessee  had  a  feast  that  they  were  not 
ashamed  of,  namely,  raw  bacon,  hard  tack  and  cold  water. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  127 

While  our  Christmas  dinner  was  not  sumptuous,  yet  it  was 
healthful  and  easily  prepared,  and  we  were  thankful  to  be 
permitted  to  take  this  simple  meal  in  peace. 

We  bivouacked  on  the  field,  and  the  next  morning 
moved  through  Mossy  Creek  and  went  into  camp  about  one 
mile  beyond,  and  to  the  left  of  the  railroad.  Our  camp  was 
in  a  heavy  grove  of  timber,  which  afforded  the  troops  some 
protection,  as  it  was  still  very  cold.  The  next  two  or  three 
days  were  spent  in  picketing,  scouting  and  skirmishing. 
The  hard  realities  of  active  campign  life  were  now  upon  us, 
in  the  midst  of  bitter  cold  weather,  with  bad  roads,  scanty 
rations  and  a  hostile  foe  near  by.  Indeed,  it  was  a  "Valley 
Forge"  to  us,  yet  with  all  these  hardships  thrust  upon  us 
we  loved  the  old  flag  and  the  cause  we  were  fighting  for,  and 
responded  to  duty  cheerfully. 

Longstreet's  cavalry,  which  was  greatly  superior  in 
numbers  to  ours,  lay  at  that  lime  only  a  short  distance  above 
our  camp  and  was  commanded  by  General  W.  T.  Martin, 
and  was  composed  of  the  divisions  of  Morgan,  Armstrong, 
Ransom  and  Wharton.  The  only  troops  that  were  con 
fronting  this  large  body  of  cavalry  at  that  time  were  Mc- 
Cook's  division  and  a  small  brigade  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Palmer,  Fifteenth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  the  re 
mainder  of  the  cavalry,  Army  of  the  Ohio,  being  stationed 
at  other  points. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2Qth,  General  Sturgis,  who  was 
in  command  of  all  the  cavalry  then  operating  in  East  Ten 
nessee,  learned  that  a  brigade  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  had 
moved  to  Dandridge,  and  decided  to  surprise  and  destroy 
it.  He  sent  the  most  of  the  cavalry  off  on  this  "Tom  Fool" 
trip,  leaving  only  Campbell's  brigade  to  hold  Mossy  Creek. 
The  whole  camp  was  astir  early  in  the  morning,  and  at  5 
o'clock  LaGrange's  brigade  left  their  camp  above  Mossy 
Creek,  with  one  section  of  Lilly's  battery,  and  moved  toward 
Bay's  Mountain  to  support  a  movement  that  was  to  be  made 
on  Dandridge  by  Wolford's  cavalry,  Army  of  the  Ohio. 

This  left  only  the  small  brigade  of  Colonel  Campbell 


128  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

to  cover  the  entire  front  of  our  camp  and  hold  the  valley. 
Campbell's  brigade  was  encamped  near  the  Morristown  road 
and  about  two  miles  east  of  Mossy  Creek.  The  First  Ten 
nessee  and  the  Second  Michigan  were  formed  in  line  of 
battle  across  the  valley  early  in  the  morning,  the  First  Ten 
nessee  on  the  right,  between  the  railroad  and  the  Morristown 
road,  with  the  Second  Michigan  on  our  left.  The  wagons 
had  been  sent  to  the  rear  early  in  the  morning.  The  Ninth 
Pennsylvania  and  the  three  remaining  guns  of  Lilly's  bat 
tery  were  placed  in  position  a  short  distance  east  of  Mossy 
Creek. 

As  soon  as  all  the  troops  had  reached  their  respective 
positions,  Campbell  moved  up  the  valley  with  the  First  Ten 
nessee  and  Second  Michigan.  About  a  mile  beyond  our 
camp,  Campbell  halted  his  brigade  and  threw  out  a  line  of 
skirmishers.  He  remained  in  this  position  until  about  10 
a.  m.,  when  word  was  sent  in  by  his  pickets  on  the  Morris- 
town  road  that  the  enemy  was  advancing  in  force,  with  eight 
or  ten  pieces  of  artillery.  The  enemy  continued  to  advance, 
and  after  driving  in  the  pickets  encountered  his  skirmishers, 
which  were  some  distance  out. 

There  was  a  sharp,  rattling  fire  along  the  skirmish  line, 
after  which  they  fell  back,  closely  followed  by  the  enemy  in 
line  of  battle,  with  flags  waving  and  arms  flashing  in  the  sun 
light.  It  was  an  exciting  moment,  and  we  began  to  think 
that  it  was  another  Dandridge  scrape.  But  Campbell  was 
equal  to  the  occasion.  Seeing  that  his  little  brigade  was 
greatly  out-numbered,  he  gave  orders  to  fall  back.  The 
enemy  pressed  forward,  showing  several  lines  of  battle,  and 
with  superior  numbers  attempted  to  out-flank  him,  at  the 
same  time  using  his  artillery  at  close  range. 

We  fell  back  to  the  residence  of  Stokely  Williams,  a 
large,  two-story,  brick  house,  and  during  the  engagement 
it  was  struck  several  times  by  flying  shells.  Here  Camp 
bell  was  compelled  to  halt  his  brigade  and  fight.  The  enemy 
was  close  upon  us  and  at  the  same  time  opened  a  severe  fire 
from  a  battery  at  close  range,  and  soon  the  air  about  us  was 


CAPTAIN    E.    .1.    CANNON,   COMPANY   C 
Killed  at  Mossy  Creek,  Term.,  December  29,  1863 


GENERAL    S.    P.    CARTER 


TENNESSEE:  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  129 

filled  with  missiles  of  all  sizes,  shapes  and  kinds,  "whirling 
and  whizzing,"  producing  a  most  unearthly  sound,  a  sound 
that  would  chill  the  blood  of  the  bravest  veteran.  Some  of 
our  boys  at  the  pack-train  went  so  far  as  to  investigate  these 
strange-sounding  missiles  when  they  had,  like  "grandfather's 
clock,"  stopped  short  never  to  go  again,  and  reported  that 
Longstreet  was  shooting  railroad  iron  at  us. 

Colonel  Campbell  ordered  the  First  Tennessee  to  charge 
the  enemy  on  the  right  of  the  brick  house,  which  it  did  with 
a  yell,  driving  back  their  center  and  halting  their  whole 
line.  At  the  same  time  the  Second  Michigan,  which  was 
fighting  dismounted,  opened  a  destructive  fire  with  their 
Colt's  rifles  at  close  range,  which  completely  staggered  their 
line.  During  this  temporary  check,  Campbell  ordered  his 
brigade  to  fall  back  and  take  up  a  new  position  near  where 
Lilly's  battery  and  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  were  stationed, 
hotly  contesting  every  inch  of  ground  as  he  fell  back. 

Lilly's  battery  was  on  a  slight  elevation  between  the 
railroad  and  the  Morristown  road.  The  First  Tennessee  was 
placed  in  line  in  front  of  the  battery  and  in  a  slight  depres 
sion,  with  the  right  of  the  regiment  resting  on  the  railroad ; 
the  Second  Michigan  and  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  were  on 
our  left.  Our  lines  were  hardly  formed  when  the  enemy 
opened  on  us  with  ten  guns,  and  it  began  to  look  like  the 
regiment  and  battery  would  be  swept  from  the  field.  It  was 
the  most  terrific  artillery  fire  the  regiment  had  ever  been 
under,  but  we  lay  there  and  took  it  all,  not  firing  a  shot. 

It  was  exceedingly  monotonous  lying  there  taking  all 
their  old  scrap-iron,  giving  nothing  in  return.  Men  and 
horses  were  'going  down  at  almost  every  discharge.  Cor 
poral  W.  W.  Wells,  Company  D,  was  the  first  victim,  his 
body  being  almost  cut  in  two  with  a  solid  shot.  It  was  three 
guns  against  ten,  but  all  this  time  Captain  Lilly's  three-inch 
Rodmans  were  speaking  in  thunder  tones,  whose  iron 
throats  had  carried  death  and  destruction  to  the  enemy  on 
other  fields,  while  his  men  and  horses  were  being  cut  down — 
yet,  strange  to  say,  not  one  of  his  guns  was  silenced  or  dis 
abled  during  this  unequal  contest. 


130  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Once  more  the  order  came  to  fall  back,  and  as  we 
moved  to  the  left,  the  solid  shot  and  exploding  shells  went 
crashing  through  the  trees,  doing  no  harm  except  cutting 
off  limbs  and  tearing  up  trees.  The  enemy  now  seemed 
more  bold  and  defiant,  and  with  superior  numbers  expected 
to  win  an  easy  victory.  We  moved  only  a  short  distance  to 
the  left,  where  a  new  line  of  battle  was  formed,  with  the 
First  Tennessee  in  the  center.  Our  lines  were  hardly  formed 
when  the  enemy  came  charging  upon  us  in  such  overwhelm 
ing  numbers  that  we  were  driven  back  and  the  day  seemed 
lost.  The  enemy  used  every  effort  to  confuse  and  break  our 
retreating  lines,  but  all  their  attempts  were  fruitless. 

Oh,  how  we  longed  for  the  old  Second  Brigade  of  our 
division !  The  day  was  fast  wearing  away  and  the  sun  was 
almost  lost  behind  the  western  hills,  and  whatever  was  to  be 
done  must  be  done  quickly,  or  the  day  would  be  lost.  The 
fighting  was  severe  all  along  the  line,  and  we  were  again 
compelled  to  yield  ground,  falling  back  a  short  distance  to 
the  edge  of  the  woods.  The  enemy,  seeing  us  falling  back, 
now  rushed  on  after  us  with  their  well-known  "rebel  yell," 
and  when  they  reached  the  edge  of  the  wood  Colonel 
Brownlow  ordered  his  troops  to  fire,  but,  disregarding  the 
effects  of  so  hot  a  fire,  they  continued  to  advance. 

Colonel  Brownlow,  seeing  the  boldness  and  courage  that 
the  enemy  were  displaying  in  still  advancing  upon  him  under 
so  hot  a  fire,  suggested  to  Campbell  the  propriety  of  making 
a  spirited  saber  charge,  believing  this  to  be  the  only  means 
of  saving  the  day,  as  "desperate  diseases  require  desperate 
remedies."  Colonel  Campbell  remarked  that  such  a  line  of 
battle  could  not  be  broken  by  a  cavalry  charge.  Colonel 
Brownlow,  realizing  the  danger  of  delay  and  the  importance 
of  immediate  action,  assumed  the  responsibility  of  ordering 
a  charge. 

The  order  was  given  to  draw  sabers,  and  with  a  yell 
the  First  Tennessee,  with  its  well-known  gallantry,  rushed 
upon  the  enemy  in  one  of  the  most  daring  charges  of  the 
war.  The  spirit,  courage,  boldness  and  audacity  with  which 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  131 

the  charge  was  made  has  scarcely  ever  been  equaled  in  the 
war,  and  the  important  effect  that  it  produced  was  a  matter 
of  astonishment  to  those  who  witnessed  it.  We  drove  the 
enemy  back  into  the  woods,  retaking  a  part  of  the  lost 
ground,  but  were  forced  back  with  some  loss,  bringing  back 
as  prisoners,  however,  one  officer  and  twenty-five  enlisted 
men. 

At  this  critical  moment  a  portion  of  Mott's  brigade, 
Second  Division,  Twenty- third  Corps,  came  upon  the  field. 
Cavalry,  infantry  and  dismounted  men  now  charged  upon 
the  enemy,  who  began  to  show  signs  of  wavering,  pouring 
volley  after  volley  into  their  ranks,  driving  them  through 
the  woods  in  great  confusion.  The  Second  Brigade,  which 
had  been  recalled,  now  reached  the  field  and  entered  heartily 
into  the  chase,  which  was  continued  for  some  distance,  halt 
ing  only  when  it  became  too  dark  to  distinguish  friend  from 
foe. 

This  was  one  of  the  most  spirited  and  hotly  contested 
cavalry  engagements  that  occurred  during  the  East  Tennes 
see  campaign,  and  considering  the  severe  fire  to  which  the 
regiment  was  exposed  for  so  long,  its  escape  from  great  loss 
was  one  of  the  many  'lucky  ones."  The  First  Tennessee 
does  not  claim  all  the  honor  or  to  have  done  all  the  fighting 
on  that  day,  yet  it  is  true  that  the  regiment  bore  an  honor 
able  part  and  fully  sustained  the  brilliant  reputation  of  the 
old  "Volunteer  State."  General  Martin  had  in  this  engage 
ment  the  divisions  of  Morgan  and  Armstrong,  numbering  at 
least  six  thousand  men,  and  with  this  superior  force  no 
doubt  expected  to  win  an  easy  victory. 

The  casualties  of  the  First  Tennessee  in  this  engage 
ment  were  as  follows : 

Killed  and  Died  of  Wounds — Company  D,  First  Lieu 
tenant  Geo.  W.  Cox,  Corporal  W.  W.  Wells  and  Private 
Henry  Wampler;  Company  I,  Corporal  Andrew  J.  Drake 
and  B.  F.  Hansford  (died  in  hospital  at  Knoxville,  date  un 
known)  ;  Company  C,  Captain  Elbert  J.  Cannon  (mortally 
wounded,  died  December  31),  and  Thos.  G.  Farrow;  Com 
pany  E,  Robert  A.  Vaughn ;  Company  G,  L.  L.  Cope. 


132  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Wounded — Company  A,  William  Simpson;  Company 
F,  Sergeant  James  Higgs  and  John  Sweeney;  Company  C, 
Geo.  W.  Troutt  and  Henry  O.  Newman ;  Company  K,  Ser 
geant  Alfred  F.  Rhea  and  Harvey  Bales ;  Company  G,  Ser 
geant  Frank  Cunningham  (severely)  ;  Company  M,  Elihu 
McNeece. 

Killed  and  died  of  wounds,  two  officers  and  seven  en 
listed  men ;  wounded,  nine  enlisted  men ;  total,  eighteen. 

The  First  Tennessee  lost  some  of  its  best  and  bravest 
men  in  this  engagement.  Captain  Cannon  and  Lieutenant 
Cox  were  the  first  officers  of  the  First  Tennessee  to  fall  in 
battle^  and  both  fell  leading  their  men  in  the  moment  of 
victory.  They  were  officers  of  great  promise,  full  of  energy 
and  thoroughly  patriotic,  were  model  soldiers,  were  men  of 
unflinching  courage  and  uncompromising  integrity.  They 
fell  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty,  and  their  sudden  removal 
at  that  moment  was  a  loss  we  all  keenly  felt.  Their  vacant 
places  cannot  be  filled,  and  the  regiment  mourned  their  loss. 

Captain  Cannon  and  Lieutenant  Cox  were  two  of  the 
original  officers  of  the  regiment.  Captain  Cannon  was  a 
Jefferson  county  man,  and  was  killed  almost  in  sight  of  his 
home.  On  the  death  of  Captain  Cannon,  First  Lieutenant 
Jacob  K.  Lones  assumed  command  of  Company  C,  and  was 
shortly  afterward  promoted  to  captain.  A.  J.  Gahagan  was 
promoted  from  second  to  first  lieutenant  after  the  death  of 
Lieutenant  Cox. 

General  McCook,  who  commanded  the  divisoin  at  the 
battle  of  Mossy  Creek,  makes  mention  of  the  gallantry  of 
the  First  Tennessee  in  his  report,  as  follows :  "The  gallant 
First  Tennessee  Cavalry  and  their  brave  young  commander, 
Colonel  Brownlow,  added  new  laurels  to  their  brilliant  repu 
tation  by  the  splendid  saber  charge  they  made.  Among  the 
other  brave  men  whose  loss  we  are  called  upon  to  mourn  are 
Captain  Cannon  and  Lieutenant  Cox,  First  Tennessee  Cav 
alry,  who  fell  at  the  head,  leading  a  charge  of  their  soldiers." 

Major  H.  C.  Connelly,  Fourteenth  Illinois  Cavalry,  in  a 
well-written  article  on  "Campaigning  with  Burnside  in  East 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  133 

Tennessee,"  makes  honorable  mention  of  the  gallantry  of 
the  First  Tennessee  at  Mossy  Creek.  He  says :  "General 
Elliott,  commanding  a  fine  division  of  cavalry  from  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland,  reinforced  us.  *  *  *  On  the 
morning  of  December  29,  Longstreet  advanced  with  most  of 
his  cavalry,  a  division  of  infantry  and  two  batteries  of  artil 
lery.  Our  loss  this  day  was  about  one  hundred  killed, 
wounded  and  missing.  The  enemy  lost  from  two  hundred 
to  four  hundred.  We  buried  twenty  of  their  dead.  In  this 
fight  the  First  Tennessee  Cavalry,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Jim  Brownlow,  made  a  saber  charge  which  did  honor  to  this 
dashing  officer  and  his  soldiers."  *  *  * 

"The  neighing  troops,  the  flashing  blade, 

The  bugle's  stirring  blast, 
The  charge,  the  dreadful  cannonade, 
The  din  and  shout  are  past." 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Mossy  Creek,  the  Confederate 
cavalry  fell  back  to  Morristo^n  and  we  spent  the  remaining 
days  of  the  year  quietly  in  camp.  Drills  and  dress-parades 
were  almost  forgotten  and  were  things  of  the  past.  Every 
one  doubtless  remembers  the  first  day  of  January,  1864 — 
Happy  New  Year — as  the  cold  one.  It  is  very  forcibly  fixed 
in  the  minds  of  the  men  composing  the  First  Tennessee,  for 
a  heavy  detail  was  made  from  the  regiment  for  picket  duty 
on  the  first  day  of  the  year.  The  night  was  exceedingly  cold, 
and  many  of  the  men  were  badly  frost-bitten  on  the  picket- 
line. 

The  cold  continued,  with  light  falls  of  sleet  and  snow. 
The  3Oth  dawned  bright  and  clear,  but  by  night  the  wind 
changed  to  the  north,  causing  the  mercury  to  fall  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  degrees  below  zero.  It  was  so  cold  that 
the  ponds  from  which  we  obtained  our  supply  of  water 
were  frozen  up,  consequently  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to 
see  half  a  dozen  men  at  a  time  cutting  holes  through  the 
ice  for  water.  Our  rations  were  short,  but  we  ate  our 
parched  corn  and  pork  and,  forgetting  for  the  time  being  our 
own  suffering  and  privations,  thought  of  the  loved  ones  at 


134  HISTORY  OF  I'IRST  REGIMENT 

home,  who  possibly  knew  nothing  of  our  real  wants,  and, 
uncertain  of  our  fate,  would  at  this  season  of  festivities  find 
little  cheer  at  the  table  and  fireside. 

On  the  1 4th  day  of  January,  the  First  Tennessee  moved 
with  the  remainder  of  the  cavalry  to  Dandridge,  where 
forage  was  more  plentiful.  In  a  few  days  we  were  joined 
by  Grainger's  Fourth  and  portions  of  the  Ninth  and  Twenty- 
third  Corps,  all  under  the  command  of  General  Park,  num 
bering  in  all  about  20,000  men.  This  move  was  made  on 
account  of  the  concentration  of  Longstreet's  army  at  Russell- 
ville  and  the  pushing  forward  of  Hood's  and  Buckner's  di 
visions  to  Dandridge  to  reinforce  Martin's  cavalry,  which 
was  in  camp  near  the  latter  place. 

We  remained  in  camp  near  Dandridge  until  the  middle 
of  January,  when  the  First  Tennessee  was  detached  and  sent 
to  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina  to  fight  a  body  of  Indians 
and  irregular  troops  under  Vance  and  Thomas.  We  broke 
camp  and  forded  French  Broa^l  River  at  Evans'  Island,  and 
marched  to  Atchley's  mill,  on  Pigeon  River,  three  miles 
below  Sevierville,  where  we  camped  for  the  night,  after  a 
cold  and  disagreeable  march  of  eighteen  miles.  At  this  place 
we  were  joined  by  the  Fifteenth  Pennsylvania  and  the  Tenth 
Ohio  Cavalry,  under  Colonel  W.  J.  Palmer,  Fifteenth  Penn 
sylvania. 

Word  reached  our  camp  that  a  band  of  Indians  and 
some  white  troops,  under  the  command  of  General  R.  B. 
Vance,  had  crossed  the  Smoky  or  Blue  Ridge  Mountains, 
and  were  encamped  on  the  headwaters  of  Cosby's  Creek,  in 
Cocke  county.  Colonels  Brownlow  and  Palmer  broke  camp 
at  daylight  and  marched  rapidly  toward  the  enemy's  camp, 
which  they  expected  to  surprise  and  capture. 

We  were  the  first  Union  soldiers  to  carry  the  "old  flag" 
among  these  loyal  and  patriotic  people,  and  were  warmly 
received  and  ably  assisted  by  them,  as  they  knew  the  country 
well. 

The  roads  were  exceedingly  rough  and  hilly,  and  with 
the  mercury  down  below  zero  our  march  was  cold  and  cheer- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  135 

less  and  at  the  same  time  dangerous,  for  on  all  sides  of  the 
narrow,  winding  roads  the  water  was  converted  into  ice  by 
nature's  own  process,  making  it  hard  for  our  horses  to  keep 
their  feet.  We  marched  along  the  narrow,  ice-covered  road, 
admiring  the  beautiful  scenery  of  these  "sky-kissed  hills," 
whose  craggy  peaks  were  whitened  with  snow,  singing  as 
we  marched  along: 

"I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills, 
Thy  woods  and  templed  hills, 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills, 
Like  that  above." 

This  meditation  was  interrupted  and  cut  short  by  a 
scout  who  dashed  up  and  reported  that  the  Indians  were 
advancing  upon  us.  Our  little  army  was  formed  in  line  of 
battle  and  skirmishers  thrown  out,  and  after  waiting  a  short 
time  for  an  attack  we  were  ordered  forward  and  soon  came 
in  sight  of  their  camp,  when  the  whole  command  was  or 
dered  to  charge.  With  a  wild  hurrah  we  made  for  their 
camp,  when  they  broke  and  quickly  fled  into  the  hills  and 
up  the  mountain,  uttering  as  they  ran  the  most  hideous  and 
warlike  yells  that  we  had  ever  heard. 

We  pursued  them  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  killing 
and  capturing  a  few,  but  the  greater  portion  made  their 
escape  by  hiding  in  the  'thick  growth  of  laurel  that  com 
pletely  covered  the  side  of  the  mountain.  Some  of  the 
Indians  were  killed  for  refusing  to  surrender,  they  having 
been  taught  that  the  "Yankees''  would  kill  them  on  sight, 
and,  not  being  familiar  with  Indian  warfare,  the  boys  kept  up 
the  fire  as  long  as  a  redskin  was  in  sight.  From  the  pris 
oners  taken,  we  learned  that  they  were  made  to  believe  that 
they  were  fighting  for  the  old  flag,  but  said  the  flags  did 
not  look  alike.  They  seemed  to  admire  the  rich  colors  of 
our  company  guidons  as  they  fluttered  in  the  mountain 
breeze. 

After  the  Indians  had  been  driven  across  the  moun 
tain,  we  returned  to  our  camp  below  Sevierville.  This  expe 
dition  was  quite  successful  and  was  made  without  loss  to 


136  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

our  ranks.  Our  camp  had  hardly  got  quiet  when  word  was 
sent  to  our  commanders  that  a  wagon-train  belonging  to 
Longstreet's  army  had  crossed  to  the  east  side  of  French 
Broad  River,  a  short  distance  above  Dandridge,  for  the 
purpose  of  collecting  forage  and  supplies  for  his  army.  The 
two  resolute  colonels  determined  to  capture  the  train,  and 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  22nd  the  men  were  aroused  by 
that  old,  familiar  call,  "boots  and  saddles,"  and  in  a  short 
time  Brownlow  and  Palmer  were  leading  their  troops  rapidly 
toward  the  point  where  the  train  was  reported  to  be. 

The  wagons  were  overtaken  some  distance  above  Dand 
ridge,  near  Muddy  Creek,  and  the  entire  train,  teamsters 
and  train-guard, '  which  consisted  of  a  detachment  of  the 
Second  South  Carolina  Infantry  and  some  Tennessee  troops, 
were  captured.  The  train  was  some  distance  from  the  river 
when  overtaken  by  us,  and  was  moving  along  leisurely,  not 
thinking  for  once  that  the  "Yankees"  were  so  close  by,  and 
the  first  warning  of  our  approach  was  the  yell  and  the  keen 
crack  of  our  carbines. 

The  brave  wagon-guard  refused  to  surrender  the 
wagons  without  resistance,  and  in  the  brisk  skirmish  that 
ensued  several  were  killed  and  wounded  and  the  remainder 
captured.  The  First  Tennessee  had  two  men  wounded.  Pri 
vate  Thos.  D.  Brogden,  of  Company  F,  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  right  shoulder  and  left  thigh,  making  him  a 
cripple  for  life.  The  wagons  were  nearly  all  branded 
"U.  S.,"  and  were  captured  only  a  few  months  before  from 
the  Union  army  near  Bean's  Station,  the  whole  bearing  the 
marks  of  the  axe  made  by  the  teamsters  trying  to  cut  them 
down  before  capture.  They  were  well  filled  with  all  kinds 
of  supplies.  The  teamsters  were  ordered  to  turn  the  wagons 
around  and  for  the  time  being  drive  for  "Uncle  Sam." 

L,ongstreet,  in  reporting  the  matter,  says :  "Twenty- 
eight  of  our  wagons  were  captured  on  the  south  side  of 
French  Broad  on  the  22nd.  They  were  foraging  and  had 
neglected  to  get  the  usual  guard.  We  lost  our  teams  with 
our  wagons  and  got  none  to  replace  them." 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  137 

On  our  way  back  we  could  hear  the  distant  boom  of 
cannon  in  the  direction  of  New  Market  and  Strawberry 
Plains,  and  learned  from  our  scouts  that  the  Union  forces 
were  falling  back  to  Knoxville,  pursued  by  Longstreet. 

We  camped  for  the  night  a  short  distance  from  Fair 
Garden,  and  early  the  next  morning  moved  back  to  our  old 
camp  at  Atchley's  mill,  where  we  were  joined  in  a  few  days 
by  the  remainder  of  our  division  and  Wolford's  cavalry, 
Army  of  the  Ohio,  who  came  up  from  Knoxville  by  way  of 
Trundell's  Cross  Roads. 

McCook,  in  his  report,  says :  "The  First  Tennessee 
and  Colonel  Palmer's  force  are  out  after  a  forage  train,  and 
I  think  will  get  them,  unless  the  guard  is  too  strong."  A 
detachment  of  the  First  Tennessee  captured  on  this  trip 
Captain  Bennett,  commissary  on  General  Benning's  staff, 
Hood's  division,  and  seven  men  who  were  out  looking  for 
forage. 


138  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 


CHAPTER  X. 

BATTLE  OF  FAIR  GARDEN — CAPTURE  OF  COLONEL  BROWNLOW 
— HE  BRIBES  THE  GUARD  AND  MAKES  HIS  ESCAPE — THE 
REGIMENT  RETURNS  TO  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND 
— CAMP  LIFE  AT  CLEVELAND — WHEELER^S  ATTEMPT  TO 
CAPTURE  THE  REGIMENT. 

Soon  after  the  Union  army  fell  back  from  Dandridge  to 
Knoxville,  Longstreet  immediately  sent  his  cavalry,  under 
General  Martin,  to  the  east  side  of  French  Broad  River,  in 
order  that  he  might  operate  more  freely  on  the  right  wing  of 
the  Union  army,  which  was  held  at  that  time  by  a  small 
force  of  cavalry  under  Brownlow  and  Palmer,  numbering 
about  one  thousand  men  and  composed  of  the  following 
regiments :  First  Tennessee,  Fifteenth  Pennsylvania  and 
Tenth  Ohio. 

This  small  brigade  had  been  operating  in  this  moun 
tainous  country  for  some  time,  watching  a  force  that  was 
reported  to  be  approaching  from  North  Carolina.  Martin 
marched  his  army  across  the  country  from  Dandridge  and 
went  into  camp  near  Fair  Garden.  This  unexpected  move 
ment  of  Longstreet's  cavalry  made  it  necessary  to  push  for 
ward  the  divisions  of  McCook  and  Wolford  from  Knoxville 
to  our  support.  Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  26th,  the  enemy 
under  Martin  was  discovered  advancing  toward  Sevierville, 
on  the  Fair  Garden  road. 

McCook's  division  was  at  once  ordered  forward  to  meet 
this  force.  The  division  moved  through  Sevierville,  and  when 
four  miles  beyond,  Campbell's  brigade  struck  the  enemy  well 
posted  behind  the  east  fork  of  Pigeon  River.  Campbell 
formed  his  brigade  in  line  of  battle  to  the  right  of  the  road, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  Martin  opened  fire  on  him  with  his 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  139 

artillery,  which  was  posted  on  a  high  range  of  hills  north  of 
Pigeon  River.  The  second  shell  that  was  fired  by  this  bat 
tery  exploded  directly  over  the  colors  of  the  First  Tennessee, 
doing  no  damage  except  wounding  one  horse. 

One  section  of  Lilly's  battery  was  sent  to  the  front,  and 
soon  the  natives  heard  for  the  first  time  the  reverberating 
sound  of  the  loud-mouthed  monsters,  while  the  swift  messen 
gers  of  death  went  flying  through  the  air  high  above  our 
heads  into  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  beyond  the  river.  Dark 
ness  soon  ended  this  artillery  duel.  The  First  Tennessee  was 
moved  a  short  distance  to  the  left,  in  the  bend  of  the  river, 
where  it  lay  in  line  of  battle  during  the  night,  which  was  ex 
ceedingly  cold. 

There  seemed  to  be  great  activity  in  the  enemy's  camp 
during  the  night,  indicating  to  us  that  reinforcements  must 
be  arriving.  There  was  sharp  firing  on  the  picket-line  dur 
ing  the  night. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th  there  was  a  heavy  fog 
along  the  river,  making  it  impossible  to  see  but  a  short  dis 
tance,  but  as  soon  as  the  fog  lifted,  lively  skirmishing  began 
all  along  the  line.  Campbell's  brigade  was  ordered  forward 
and  at  the  crossing  at  Dr.  Hodsden's,  the  enemy  was  en 
countered  in  force,  and  after  a  sharp  skirmish  with  some 
Texas  troops,  we  drove  them  back  and  crossed  the  river, 
capturing  several  prisoners  on  the  opposite  side.  Among 
them  was  a  major,  with  long,  black  hair,  who  was  badly 
wounded. 

The  enemy  fell  back  about  one  mile  and  took  up  a  new 
position  at  McNutt's  bridge,  a  covered  structure  over  the 
Little  East  Fork  of  Pigeon  River,  where  we  found  them  well 
posted  behind  a  rail  barricade  along  the  north  bank.  Lilly's 
battery  was  sent  to  the  front  and  after  shelling  them  vigor 
ously  they  fell  back  into  the  woods. 

Our  whole  line  was  ordered  forward  to  the  river,  and 
a  detachment  of  the  Second  Michigan  was  dismounted  and 
ordered  to  cross  a  short  distance  above  the  bridge  for  the 
purpose  of  turning  their  left  flank.  The  brave  Michigan 


140  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

boys  were  overpowered,  and  after  a  sharp  engagement  were 
compelled  to  fall  back,  pursued  by  the  enemy.  On  account 
of  their  superior  number  we  were  unable  to  hold  them  in 
check  at  the  bridge,  and  after  a  gallant  resistance  our  whole 
line  was  forced  back  a  short  distance. 

General  McCook,  finding  the  enemy's  position  too  strong 
to  be  carried,  sent  the  Second  Brigade,  under  LaGrange, 
on  a  road  to  his  left  that  intersected  the  Fair  Garden  road 
about  two  miles  from  the  latter  place.  Here  General  Mar 
tin  had  selected  a  strong  position  in  the  timber  and  was 
holding  a  part  of  his  force  in  reserve.  LaGrange  soon  en 
countered  the  enemy  under  Morgan  and  drove  them  back 
along  the  road  almost  to  the  intersection  of  the  two  roads, 
and  nowr  \vaited  for  Campbell's  brigade  to  come  up  on  the 
main  Fair  Garden  road. 

The  enemy  still  occupied  the  bank  of  the  river,  with  a 
strong  line  of  skirmishers,  but  the  main  force  had  taken 
up  a  new  position  in  the  timber,  about  a  half  mile  from  the 
stream.  Campbell's  brigade  was  now  ordered  to  advance 
and  carry  the  bridge,  which  it  did  in  gallant  style,  driving 
the  enemy  back  from  every  position  they  attempted  to  hold. 
We  continued  to  drive  them  back  along  the  road  leading 
to  Fair  Garden,  and  as  we  neared  the  junction  of  the  two 
roads  the  column  we  were  pursuing  began  to  show  signs 
of  a  panic. 

Both  brigades  had  driven  Martin's  troops  back  on  their 
position  at  the  intersection  of  the  two  roads,  where  they 
made  a  bold  and  determined  stand,  opening  on  us  a  heavy 
artillery  and  musketry  fire.  A  portion  of  the  Second  Brigade 
was  dismounted  and  advanced  across  an  open  field,  driving 
back  the  enemy's  right.  The  dismounted  men  now  wheeled 
to  the  left  and  opened  a  brisk  flank  fire  upon  the  force  that 
was  confronting  Campbell's  brigade. 

The  enemy,  being  hard  pressed  all  along  their  line,  be 
gan  to  show  signs  of  wavering,  when  Colonel  LaGrange  led 
a  portion  of  the  Second  and  Fourth  Indiana  Cavalry  in  a 
gallant  saber  charge,  routing  Morgan's  division,  capturing 


TENNESSEE:  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  141 

his  battle-flag  and  a  part  of  his  escort,  two  pieces  of  artillery 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  prisoners.  While  the  Sec 
ond  Brigade  was  engaged  in  this  ''cutting  and  slashing" 
business,  Campbell's  brigade  was  driving  a  superior  force  on 
a  parallel  road  just  to  the  right  of  the  Second  Brigade,  and 
as  the  two  brigades  were  approaching  the  junction  of  the  two 
roads,  the  Second,  being  a  little  in  advance,  were  in  danger 
from  the  fire  of  the  First  Brigade. 

Campbell's  brigade  pushed  Martin's  troops  back  rapidly 
on  the  Fair  Garden  road,  capturing  scores  of  prisoners  and 
throwing  them  into  great  confusion.  Martin's  troops  being 
thoroughly  routed,  now  fled  in  all  directions,  the  road  being 
lined  with  guns,  accoutrements  and  hats.  Colonel  Brown- 
low  was  ordered  to  charge  down  the  road  with  his  regiment 
after  the  fleeing  enemy,  which  he  did  with  his  usual  gal 
lantry,  but  in  doing  so  he  charged  by  two  regiments,  said 
to  be  the  Eighth  and  Eleventh  Texas,  who  were  approaching 
the  same  road  he  was  on,  but  to  his  left  and  rear. 

They  came  on  the  gallop  and  were  either  reinforce 
ments  or  some  of  Martin's  scattered  troops.  It  was  a  critical 
moment,  as  the  regiment  was  some  distance  beyond  the  sup 
port  of  the  brigade,  and  it  was  "fight  or  be  captured."  But 
Brownlow  was  equal  to  the  emergency.  He  hurriedly 
formed  his  men  in  line  to  the  right  of  the  road,  and  as  the 
enemy  passed  by  he  ordered  the  regiment  to  give  them  a 
volley,  which  emptied  several  saddles.  Colonel  Brownlow 
now  led  his  regiment  in  a  charge  against  this  force,  throw 
ing  it  into  rapid  retreat. 

It  was  now  growing  dark,  but  the  pursuit  was  continued 
until  the  First  Tennessee  was  some  distance  in  advance  of 
the  brigade,  and  at  the  same  time  was  without  support  and 
within  the  enemy's  lines.  Colonel  Brownlow,  deeming  it 
unwise  to  pursue  further,  halted  his  troops  and  started  to  re 
turn  to  his  command,  and  in  the  darkness  became  separated 
from  his  men  and  was  captured  by  some  Texas  troops ;  but 
by  a  little  strategy  and  a  gold  watch,  he  succeeded  in  making 
his  escape  during  the  night  and  early  the  next  morning  re 
turned  to  camp. 


142  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

There  was  a  feeling  of  sorrow  and  uneasiness  in  camp 
during  the  night,  as  we  were  unable  to  determine  whether  he 
was  slain  on  the  field  or  a  prisoner.  But  imagine  our  sur 
prise  on  the  following  morning  when  Brownlow  came  into 
camp  safe  and  sound.  The  boys  crowded  around  him  and 
after  congratulations  on  his  fortunate  escape,  cheer  after 
cheer  went  up  from  the  regiment,  for  he  was  the  idol  of  his 
men  and  a  general  favorite  of  the  entire  brigade.  If  the 
troops  making  the  capture  had  known  who  their  prisoner 
was  it  would  have  taken  several  gold  watches  to  win  them 
over ;  in  fact,  no  bribe  or  strategy  would  have  saved  him, 
but,  supposing  the  "doughty"  colonel  was  only  a  poor  pri 
vate  who  wanted  to  see  his  family,  let  him  go. 

Campbell's  brigade  captured  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  prisoners  during  the  day.  The  loss  in  the  First  Ten 
nessee  during  the  day  was  remarkably  light.  Company  C 
lost  two  men  wounded  at  McNutt's  bridge,  as  follows :  Cor 
poral  John  A.  Potter,  wounded  in  right  arm,  and  Private 
James  Baysinger,  mortally  wounded  and  died  in  hospital  at 
Knoxville,  Tenn.,  February  16.  At  Fair  Garden,  Private 
Andrew  Edens,  Company  E,  was  severely  wounded,  and 
Colonel  Brownlow  captured.  McCook's  division  were  the 
only  troops  engaged  at  McNutt's  bridge  and  Fair  Garden, 
and  for  the  length  of  the  engagement  and  the  loss  inflicted 
the  casualties  were  exceedingly  light,  being  twenty-eight 
killed  and  wounded. 

Our  division  mourned  the  loss  of  the  brave  and  gallant 
soldier,  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  P.  Leslie,  Fourth  Indiana 
Cavalry,  Second  Brigade,  who  fell  at  the  head  of  his  regi 
ment  in  the  moment  of  victory,  leading  a  saber  charge.  His 
loss  was  keenly  felt  not  only  in  his  own  regiment,  but  in  all 
the  command.  The  regimental  flag  of  the  Thirty-first  Indi 
ana  Volunteers,  a  silk  American  flag  and  a  battery  guidon 
in  possession  of  the  enemy,  were  captured.  General  Morgan 
narrowly  escaped  capture  himself. 

General  Martin  left  a  large  number  of  dead  and 
wounded  on  the  field  and  his  loss  was  estimated  at  three  him- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  143 

dred  and  fifty.  While  the  battle  of  Fair  Garden  is  not  classed 
as  one  of  the  leading  cavalry  engagements  as  to  loss,  yet  in 
many  respects  it  was  a  severe  blow,  and  resulted  in  serious 
loss  to  Longstreet's  cavalry  and  artillery  and  the  discomfiture 
of  his  men.  We  had  been  engaged  in  a  running  fight  during 
the  day  of  seven  miles,  beginning  at  Hodsden's,  on  the  East 
Fork  of  Pigeon  River,  and  ending  at  Fair  Garden. 

General  Longstreet  makes  the  following  report  of  the 
battle : 

MORRISTOWN,  Jan.  29,  1864. 
GENERAL  S.  COOPER,  Adjutant-General: 

Genera]  Martin  had  a  severe  cavalry  fight  on  the  27th.  He  was 
driven  back  four  miles  with  the  loss  of  200  killed,  wounded  and  miss 
ing,  and  two  pieces  of  artillery.  The  enemy's  cavalry  has  been  greatly 
increased  by  cavalry  from  Chattanooga.  Most  of  the  cavalry  from 
that  place  is  now  here.  The  men,  about  half  that  should  be  in  our 
regiments,  are,  1  understand,  in  the  camps  about  Dalton.  I  hope  they 
may  be  sent  here  or  these  sent  there.  We  can  do  but  little  while  this 
superior  cavalry  force  is  here  to  operate  on  our  flanks  and  rear.  Do 
send  me  a  chief  of  cavalry. 

J.  LONGSTREET, 

Lieutenant  General. 

General  Sturgis  makes  the  following  report : 

HEADQUARTERS  CAVALRY  CORPS, 
Dickey's,  Jan'y  27th,  1864 — 6  p.  m. 

GENERAL  :  After  driving  the  whole  cavalry  force  of  the  enemy 
steadily  all  day  long,  our  troops  went  in  about  4  o'clock  with  the 
saber  and  a  yell  and  routed  them,  horse,  foot  and  dragoon,  capturing 
over  100  prisoners  and  two  pieces  of  artillery — 3-inch  steel  guns.  Our 
troops  are  very  much  worn  down  with  continuous  fighting  and  little 
to  eat,  but  they  are  a  band  of  as  patient  and  brave  soldiers  as  I  have 
ever  seen  thus  far.  Some  fifty  or  sixty  of  the  enemy  were  killed  and 
wounded  in  this  charge  alone.  In  the  whole  day's  fighting  their  loss 
must  be  very  large.  As  Walford  and  Garrard  were  brought  from  a 
long  distance,  they  fell  in  as  a  reserve,  so  that  this  glorious  day's 
work  was  performed  alone  by  the  gallant  men  of  LaGrange's  and 
Campbell's  brigades  of  McCook's  divison. 

Respectfully  yours,  etc., 

S.  D.  STURGIS, 
Brigadier  General  Commanding. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  letter  that  Longstreet  was 


144  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

of  the  impression  that  most  all  the  cavalry  from  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland  was  then  confronting  him.  The  only 
cavalry  from  that  army  were  the  First  and  Second  Brigades, 
The  Seventh  Kentucky  Cavalry  of  the  Third  Brigade  and 
Lilly's  Eighteenth  Indiana  Battery,  all  of  the  First  Division, 
and  the  Fifteenth  Pennsylvania  and  Tenth  Ohio  Cavalry,  two 
small  regiments  of  the  Third  Brigade,  Second  Division — in 
all,  nine  regiments  and  one  battery. 

After  the  battle  of  Fair  Garden,  all  the  Union  troops 
fell  back  to  Sevierville.  On  the  29th,  the  cavalry  was  or 
dered  to  Maryville,  sixteen  miles  south  of  Knoxville,  and 
went  into  camp  a  short  distance  east  of  town.  Maryville  is 
well  and  favorably  known  throughout  the  land  as  an  edu 
cational  center.  Here  it  was  that  Rev.  Isaac  Anderson, 
a  Presbyterian  minister  and  pioneer  in  educational  work,  es 
tablished  a  college  in  1819  that  has  since  become  famous  as 
an  institution  of  learning.  Several  members  of  the  First 
Tennessee  were  forced  to  leave  school  before  completing 
their  education  to  avoid  conscription  into  the  Confederate 
army. 

On  the  first  day  of  February,  the  First  Tennessee  and 
Fourth  Indiana,  Second  Brigade,  all  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Brownlow,  First  Tennessee,  were  ordered  to  make 
a  reconnoissance  toward  Sevierville.  Reveille  called  us  at 
2  a.  m.,  and  with  the  stars  for  a  light,  we  arose  from  our 
warm  beds  and  soon  hundreds  of  blazing  camp-fires  were 
seen  all  over  the  camp,  as  the  men  went  about  the  prepara 
tion  of  this  early  meal.  Coffee-pots  and  tin-cups  with  water 
and  coffee  in  them  were  suspended  over  the  fires,  and  when 
the  boiling  point  was  reached  the  rich  aroma  whetted  our 
appetites,  while  some  of  the  boys,  skilled  in  the  business, 
manipulated  the  flapjack  pans. 

Breakfast  over,  we  mounted  and  marched  along  the 
main  Sevierville  road  to  Little  River,  where  we  were  joined 
by  two  regiments  of  infantry  and  one  section  of  artillery  as  a 
support.  We  forded  Little  River  at  McCamey's  Ford  and 
marched  to  Trundle's  Cross  Roads,  sixteen  miles  from  Mary- 


PRIVATE    ALLEX   S.   TATE,   COMPANY   H 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  145 

ville,  where  we  bivouacked  for  the  night.  At  5  130  the  next 
morning  we  left  camp  and  went  as  far  as  Boyd's  Creek,  and 
within  eight  miles  of  Sevierville,  where  we  learned  that  the 
enemy  were  in  force  behind  Pigeon  River.  The  object  of 
the  reconnoissance  having  been  accomplished,  Colonel 
Brownlow  returned  to  camp  at  Maryville. 

For  the  next  eight  or  ten  days  our  camp  was  very  quiet, 
with  nothing  but  the  usual  routine  camp  duty  to  perform, 
affording  the  boys  a  splendid  opportunity  to  wash  their 
clothing,  rest  and  get  ready  for  the  next  move.  The  last 
duty  performed  by  the  regiment  in  the  Army  of  the  Ohio 
was  the  reconnoissance  toward  Sevierville,  as  we  were  now 
under  orders  to  return  in  a  few  days  to  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland.  The  First  Tennessee  had  spent  nearly  three 
months  in  this  East  Tennessee  campaign,  during  the  cold 
est  and  most  disagreeable  weather  the  regiment  had  ever 
experienced. 

Our  ranks  had  been  invaded  by  disease,  while  shot  and 
shell  and  the  much-dreaded  "minie,"  with  its  dull  thud,  had 
laid  low  some  of  our  best  and  bravest  men.  But  the  First 
Tennessee  responded  to  duty  with  a  will,  and  it  mattered 
but  little  whether  it  was  on  the  scout,  or  the  march,  or 
around  a  kettle  of  well-cooked  beans  or  a  pot  of  steaming 
coffee,  it  was  always  present.  The  men  composing  the  regi 
ment  had  many  peculiarities.  If  the  commissary  had  no 
hard-tack  or  flour  for  the  men,  they  would  do  without  either ; 
if  they  had  no  beef,  they  were  content  with  fat  pork;  if  no 
rice,  they  would  put  up  with  beans ;  if  no  coffee,  they  were 
satisfied  with  water;  if  none  of  the  articles  mentioned  were 
to  be  had,  they  were  willing  to  satisfy  the  "craving  stom 
ach"  with  parched  corn. 

But  with  all  the  trials  and  hardships  incident  to  a 
soldier's  life,  the  men  composing  the  First  Tennessee  can 
point  with  pride  to  duty  well  performed,  under  the  most  try 
ing  and  adverse  circumstances,  receiving  from  their  com 
manders  the  highest  admiration  for  obedience  and  unmur 
muring  endurance  on  the  march  or  the  field  of  battle. 


146  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

When  it  became  known  that  the  First  Tennessee  was  to 
return  to  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  all  over  our  camp 
men  could  be  seen  taking  from  their  saddle-bags  their  small 
stock  of  stationery,  and,  while  sitting  around  a  smoky  camp- 
fire  or  beside  a  sturdy  oak,  were  engaged  in  writing  a  hasty 
letter  to  the  dear  ones  at  home,  and  to  some  it  was  the  last. 

On  the  loth  day  of  February,  McCook's  division,  to 
which  the  First  Tennessee  belonged,  broke  camp  at  Mary- 
ville  and  started  by  slow  and  easy  march  for  Cleveland.  The 
route  we  marched  over  presented  to  the  observing  cav 
alrymen  one  of  rare  beauty  and  grandeur.  Old  "Mother 
Earth"  was  still  wearing  her  winter  dress,  while  the  cold, 
biting  frost  had  robbed  the  trees  of  their  beauty,  giving  us 
an  unobstructed  view  of  the  grand  old  mountains,  while  on 
every  hand  the  clear,  rippling  streams,  that  were  rushing 
madly  on  to  form  and  help  to  make  up  the  mighty  ocean, 
furnished  us  with  plenty  to  drink. 

We  marched  through  Madisonville  and  crossed  Little 
Tennessee  River  at  Nile's  Ferry,  camping  for  a  few  days 
on  Tellico  River  and  near  the  celebrated  Tellico  Plains.  A 
detachment  of  the  Second  Brigade  was  sent  from  this  place 
on  a  scout  to  Cherokee  county,  North  Carolina,  where  it 
succeeded  in  capturing  thirty-eight  prisoners,  mostly  Indians, 
and  twenty-five  horses  and  mules.  This  scout  was  accom 
plished  without  any  loss  on  our  side.  The  Indians  were  very 
sullen  and  refused  to  talk  much.  Among  them  was  a  min 
ister  who  preached  on  Sunday  to  a  large  audience  of  "Yan 
kees." 

Forage  being  scarce  at  this  place,  we  moved  a  few  miles 
up  the  Little  Tennessee  River  and  went  into  camp  near  the 
foot  of  Smoky  Mountain,  where  we  found  only  a  small 
amount  of  grain  for  our  horses.  While  at  this  place  a  light 
snow  fell,  whitening  up  the  earth  and  the  mountain,  adding 
grandeur  to  the  scenery.  February  18  found  us  again  on  the 
move.  We  marched  through  Athens  and  went  into  camp 
near  Chestooa  camp-ground,  said  to  be  one  of  the  oldest 
churches  and  camp-grounds  in  all  that  country,  the  church 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  147 

deriving  its  name  from  a  small,  sluggish  stream  of  the  same 
name  near  by. 

At  this  camp  pay-rolls  were  made  out,  but  we  were  not 
paid  until  Cleveland  was  reached.  About  the  last  of  the 
month  the  whole  division  was  moved  to  Calhoun,  on  the 
Hiwassee  River,  where  it  went  into  camp  some  four  miles 
below.  Major  Thornburgh,  who  was  painfully  wounded  at 
Dandridge,  December  24,  1863,  rejoined  the  regiment  at  this 
place  and  was  warmly  received  by  the  boys.  On  the  nth 
day  of  March,  we  left  camp  and  marched  back  to  Calhoun, 
crossed  Hiwassee  River  on  a  pontoon  bridge,  and  marched 
a  few  miles  beyond  Charleston,  where  we  camped  for  the 
night. 

The  next  morning,  McCook  received  orders  from  Gen 
eral  Elliott  to  move  his  division  to  Cleveland,  which  place 
he  reached  late  in  the  afternoon  and  camped  for  a  few  days 
west  of  town  on  the  Cotton  Port  road.  Good  camping- 
grounds  were  selected  and  tents  put  up  with  great  care, 
adding  greatly  to  the  appearance  and  beauty  of  the  camp. 
This  was  the  first  regular  camp  that  we  had  laid  out  during 
the  East  Tennessee  campaign,  and  was  the  first  time  that  our 
tents  had  been  stretched  in  three  months,  and  we  again 
enjoyed  the  almost  forgotten  luxury  of  sleeping  in  tents. 

We  now  began  to  "play"  soldier  again.  Company  and 
battalion  drills  and  dress-parades  had  been  unknown  to  us 
during  this  mid-winter  campaign,  and  while  waiting  for 
orders  our  time  was  occupied  in  reviewing  the  early  lessons 
of  the  regiment.  The  First  Tennessee  was  never  accused  of 
being  a  "band-box  regiment,"  but  its  staying  qualities  were 
equal  to  its  ''style."  After  a  short  stay  in  this  camp,  the 
First  Tennessee  was  moved  about  one  mile  east  of  town  on 
the  Spring  Place  road.  Our  new  camp  was  near  a  large  and 
famous  spring,  known  about  Cleveland  as  "Rhat's  Spring," 
from  which  many  a  weary  traveler  had  slaked  his  thirst  in 
days  gone  by  at  this  free,  sparkling  fountain. 

The  First  Tennessee  remained  in  this  camp  until  the 
general  advance  of  the  army  in  May.  The  duty  imposed 


148  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

upon  the  troops  was  light  and  consisted  mainly  in  scouting 
and  picketing.  Our  worthy  and  distinguished  chaplain,  the 
Rev.  John  P.  Holtsinger,  preached  to  us  regularly  every 
Sunday  morning,  and  here  the  writer  will  venture  the  asser 
tion  that  no  regiment  in  the  service  had  a  higher  regard  or 
was  more  devoted  to  their  chaplain  than  the  First  Tennessee. 
It  never  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  First  Tennessee  to  be  out 
of  sight  of  the  enemy  long  at  a  time,  and  therefore  it  ac 
quired  great  fame  as  a  fighting  regiment.  The  dashing  Jim 
Brownlow,  than  whom  there  was  none  braver,  led  his  men 
constantly  at  the  front,  and  they  were  always  in  at  the  finish. 
We  were  now  enjoying  the  real  sunny  side  of  a  soldier's 
life,  and  what  a  change  it  was  from  the  active  campaign 
just  closed. 

"No  rumor  of  the  foe's  advance 

Now  swells  upon  the  wind, 
No  troubled  thought  at  midnight  haunts 

Of  loved  ones  left  behind ; 
No  vision  of  the  morrow's  strife 

The  warrior's  dream  alarms, 
No  braying  horn  or  screaming  fife 

At  dawn  shall  call  to  arms." 

The  greater  part  of  the  Confederate  army,  under  the 
command  of  General  Joseph  E.  Johnson,  was  encamped  near 
Dalton,  Georgia,  about  thirty  miles  from  our  camp,  conse 
quently  the  outposts  of  the  Union  army  were  kept  some  dis 
tance  out.  The  enemy's  cavalry  under  Wheeler  lay  en 
camped  near  Spring  Place,  and  occasionally  their  scouting 
parties  would  attack  our  outposts,  and  especially  on  the 
Spring  Place  road,  and  as  this  was  considered  to  be  the  most 
important  road  leading  to  the  enemy's  camp,  it  was  kept 
well  picketed.  Owing  to  the  long  distance  of  this  outpost 
from  camp,  the  men  detailed  for  picket  duty  on  this  road 
would  remain  out  from  two  to  three  days  before  being 
relieved. 

A  detachment  of  the  First  Tennessee  had  been  on  picket 
on  this  road,  but  was  relieved  by  a  detail  from  the  First  Wis- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  149 

consin,  Second  Brigade.  General  Wheeler,  the  able  and 
dashing  leader  of  Johnson's  cavalry,  learned  that  Jim 
Brownlow's  regiment  was  on  picket  on  this  road,  and  de 
termined  to  surprise  and  capture  it.  He  moved  with  his 
accustomed  boldness  and  succeeded  in  surrounding  and  cap 
turing  the  most  of  the  men,  and  when  asked  why  he  brought 
so  large  a  force  to  capture  a  picket-post,  remarked  that  he 
understood  that  Jim  Brownlow's  regiment  was  on  picket 
and  that  it  could  not  be  captured  with  a  handful  of  men,  as 
he  had  met  the  regiment  often  and  knew  of  its  splendid 
staying  qualities. 

During  our  stay  at  Cleveland  and  before  starting  upon 
the  Georgia  campaign,  some  changes  were  made  in  the  First 
Brigade.  The  Ninth  Pennsylvania,  which  had  been  in  the 
brigade  ever  since  its  organization  at  Triune,  was  trans 
ferred  to  the  Third  Division,  and  their  place  filled  by  the 
Eighth  Iowa  Cavalry,  a  new  regiment  commanded  by  Col 
onel  J.  B.  Dorr.  We  regretted  very  much  to  part  with  this 
gallant  regiment,  for  we  were  close  friends,  and  besides, 
the  kindest  feeling  existed  between  the  three  regiments  com 
posing  the  brigade.  It  made  no  difference  which  regiment 
was  in  the  advance  or  which  one  covered  the  retreat,  each 
could  be  relied  on  when  in  a  "tight  place."  The  Iowa  boys 
— nicknamed  "Persimmon  Knockers" — proved  themselves  to 
be  good  soldiers,  and  made  a  good  record. 


150  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  ATLANTA  CAMPAIGN — FROM  CLEVELAND  TO  PINE  MOUN 
TAIN — DUG  GAP  AND  Tl I/TON — ACROSS  THE  COOSAWATTEE 
AND  ETOWAH — SOLDIERING  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES — BURNT 
HICKORY — BROWNLOW'S  HILL. 

The  spring  of  1864  found  the  Union  commanders  east 
and  west  making  extensive  preparations  for  a  general  ad 
vance.  Lieutenant-General  Grant,  at  the  head  of  a  large 
and  well-equipped  army,  was  ready  to  move  on  Richmond, 
the  proud  city  and  capital  of  the  Confederacy.  Blooming 
May  found  General  W.  T.  Sherman  at  the  head  of  a  veteran 
army  the  equal  of  Wellington's,  and  ready  to  move  when  the 
Lieutenant-General  issued  the  order.  Lee,  with  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  was  protecting  Richmond,  while  Johnson, 
at  the  head  of  a  large  and  well-equipped  force,  was  in  front 
of  Dalton,  ready  to  dispute  the  advance  of  Sherman's  army. 

These  two  armies  were  the  largest  that  ever  had  assem 
bled  east  or  west,  but  were  too  far  apart  for  co-operation, 
yet  they  could  be  helpful  by  a  simultaneous  movement.  Gen 
eral  Sherman  was  at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  composed  of 
well-seasoned  veterans,  and  commanded  by  such  able  and 
distinguished  fighters  as  Thomas,  McPherson  and  Schofield, 
who  commanded  respectively  the  Armies  of  the  Cumber 
land,  Tennessee  and  Ohio.  Grant  was  to  strike  at  the  head 
and  Sherman  at  the  heart  of  the  Confederacy. 

Sherman  entered  the  campaign  with  an  effective  force 
of  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  men  and  two  hundred  and 
fifty-four  guns.  Of  these,  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  had 
sixty  thousand  men  and  one  hundred  and  thirty  guns;  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  twenty-five  thousand  men  and 
ninety-six  guns,  and  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  fourteen  thou- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  151 

sand  men  and  twenty-eight  guns.  General  J.  E.  Johnson,  the 
Confederate  commander,  who  was  reckoned  by  military  men 
as  almost  the  equal  of  Lee,  was  at  the  head  of  an  army  num 
bering,  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign,  about  fifty-three 
thousand  men,  but  before  the  battle  of  Resaca  was  fought, 
reinforcements  increased  it  to  seventy-one  thousand,  two 
hundred  and  thirty-five  men  and  one  hundred  and  twenty 
cannon. 

General  Sherman  had  issued  an  order  for  a  general 
advance  of  his  army  the  first  of  May,  consequently  there  was 
a  great  hurry  and  bustle  in  camp,  getting  ready  for  the  ap 
proaching  campaign.  The  sound  of  the  blacksmith's  hammer 
was  heard  throughout  camp,  shoeing  horses,  repairing 
wagons  and  ambulances  for  the  march  "through  Georgia." 

"Bring  the  good  old  bugle,  boys,  we'll  sing  another  song, 
Sing  it  with  a  spirit  that  will  start  the  world  along, 
Sing  it  as  we  used  to  sing  it,  fifty  thousand  strong, 
While  we  were  marching  through  Georgia." 

Winter  had  become  a  thing  of  the  past,  the  biting  winds 
of  March  had  also  departed,  and  now  May,  with  its  warm 
sunshine,  had  aroused  to  action  the  dormant  germs  of  the 
vegetable  kingdom.  All  the  beauties  of  springtime  were 
ushered  in.  Beautiful  flowers  unfolded  their  petals  to  our 
view ;  fragrant  odors  freighted  the  breezes,  while  upon  every 
hand  the  birds  were  apparently  trying  to  see  which  could 
sing  their  sweetest  songs ;  the  bees  were  humming  and  buz 
zing  among  the  trees  and  clover  for  honey.  As  the  army 
marched  along,  unmindful  of  the  surroundings,  nature  was 
quietly  getting  in  her  work,  covering  old  "Mother  Earth" 
again  with  a  rich,  green  carpet,  and  seemed  to  rebuke  man, 
who  was  engaged  in  a  business  so  much  at  variance  with  the 
beautiful  world. 

Sherman's  army  was  encamped  at  Cleveland  and  Chatta 
nooga,  and  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  to  be  solved  was 
that  of  supplies.  This  large  army  was  to  be  supplied  by  a 
single  line  of  road  from  Nashville  to  Chattanooga,  and  thence 
to  Atlanta.  This  was  a  knotty  problem,  and  its  solution 


152  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

turned  upon  the  capacity  of  this  single  track  to  do  the  work. 
Chattanooga  again,  as  in  1863,  became  a  place  of  great  im 
portance,  and  scenes  of  great  activity  were  going  on  night 
and  day. 

Large  store-houses  were  built  in  which  quartermaster 
and  commissary  supplies  were  stored.  In  addition  to  the 
supplies  for  the  army  this  single  line  of  road  must  also  trans 
port  artillery  and  cavalry  horses,  mules,  cattle  and  ammu 
nition.  Day  and  night  the  long,  trembling  trains  were  seen 
rolling  into  Chattanooga  with  their  precious  cargoes.  Long- 
street's  army  had  left  East  Tennessee  and  joined  Lee  in  Vir 
ginia,  while  Martin,  with  his  cavalry,  was  sent  to  Johnson. 
This  left  the  Union  troops  that  had  wintered  in  East  Ten 
nessee  free  to  join  either  Grant  or  Sherman. 

The  Ninth  Corps  was  sent  east,  and  McCook's  cavalry 
returned  to  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  followed  soon  after 
by  Schofield's  Twenty-third  Corps.  The  order  to  march  was 
issued  and  soon  myriads  of  tents  disappeared  like  snow  be 
fore  the  sun.  Knapsacks  were  packed,  horses  caparisoned, 
letters  answered,  and  on  the  third  day  of  May  the  army  be 
gan  to  move.  The  First  Tennessee  broke  camp  at  Cleveland 
and  moved  with  the  remainder  of  the  division  along  the  Dai- 
ton  road.  The  march  was  continued  to  Red  Clay,  where  it 
bivouacked  for  the  night.  This  move  placed  McCook's  di 
vision  in  advance  and  to  the  left  of  Stanley  and  Schofield. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the.  4th,  we  advanced  toward 
Catoosa  Springs,  and  during  the  day  had  several  skirmishes. 
On  the  7th,  we  moved  to  Varnell's  Station.  At  this  place 
the  First  Brigade  encountered  Wheeler's  cavalry,  and  lively 
skirmishing  was  kept  up  during  the  day.  Late  in  the  after 
noon  the  enemy  advanced  in  such  numbers  that  LaGrange's 
brigade  was  sent  to  our  support. 

The  8th  was  spent  in  maneuvering  and  skirmishing.  On 
the  Qth,  the  Second  Brigade  was  ordered  to  advance  on  the 
Dalton  road  to  develop  the  position  and  strength  of  the 
enemy.  A  short  distance  from  Varnell's  Station,  LaGrange 
struck  the  advance  of  the  enemy  and  drove  it  back  on  their 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  153 

main  line.  Here  a  brisk  engagement  ensued,  in  which  the 
Second  Brigade  was  driven  back  with  serious  loss,  the  bri 
gade  losing  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  killed,  wounded  and 
missing.  Among  the  latter  was  Colonel  LaGrange,  First 
Wisconsin,  commanding  Second  Brigade,  who  was  badly 
wounded  and  captured. 

General  McCook,  in  his  report  of  the  Georgia  campaign, 
says :  ''During  these  days  the  services  called  from  and  ren 
dered  by  the  division  were  of  the  most  arduous  kind.  Potato 
Hill,  a  strong  natural  position,  was  assaulted  and  the  first  line 
of  the  enemy's  breast-works  taken  by  the  First  Tennessee 
regiment,  under  Colonel  Brownlow."  * 

On  the  nth,  the  whole  division  moved  through  Tunnell 
Hill  to  Dug  Gap,  an  important  position  on  the  left  of  the 
Union  army,  relieving  General  Geary's  division,  Twentieth 
Corps.  On  the  morning  of  the  I3th,  we  crossed  Rocky  Face 
Ridge,  at  Dug  Gap,  and  joined  Howard's  Fourth  Corps, 
and  during  the  afternoon  engaged  the  enemy  near  Tilton. 

The  next  day  we  moved  forward  in  the  direction  of 
Resaca,  covering  the  advance  of  the  Fourth  Corps,  and  dur 
ing  the  early  part  of  the  day  met  and  drove  back  the  enemy's 
outposts  upon  his  main  force.  During  the  operations  around 
Resaca  a  part  of  the  division  was  dismounted  and  placed  in 
the  rifle-pits,  while  the  remainder  held  the  left  of  Hooker's 
line.  After  the  battle  of  Resaca,  the  enemy  retreated  south 
through  Calhoun  to  Adairsville.  At  this  place  Johnson  ex 
pected  to  make  a  stand  and  offer  battle,  but  finding  his  army 
hard  pressed  and  his  flanks  threatened,  continued  to  fall  back 
to  Cassville. 

We  were  still  on  the  left  flank  of  the  army  and  on  the 
1 6th  crossed  Connasauga  River  and  camped  for  the  night 
near  Field's  Mill,  on  the  Coosawattee.  On  the  i/th,  we 
took  the  advance  again  and  moved  toward  Cassville,  leaving 
Calhoun  and  Adairsville  to  our  right.  On  the  iQth,  Mc- 
Cook's  division  was  pushed  rapidly  forward  toward  Cass 
ville,  and  a  short  distance  north  of  town  the  enemy's  cav 
alry  and  a  force  of  infantry  were  encountered,  and  after  a 


154  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

brisk  engagement  they  were  driven  back  "pell-mell"  into 
town,  losing  thirty-eight  by  capture. 

The  First  Tennessee  Cavalry  was  in  the  advance,  and 
near  sundown  drove  Wheeler's  advance  back  upon  the  in 
fantry,  who  were  behind  rifle-pits.  The  regiment  captured 
several  prisoners.  Lilly's  battery  was  sent  to  the  front  and 
shelled  the  enemy  vigorously  until  dark.  The  regiment  had 
two  men  wounded  and  several  horses  shot. 

We  moved  to  Kingston  on  the  2Oth,  where  we  remained 
for  a  few  days,  resting  and  waiting  for  the  railroad  to  be 
repaired  and  the  accumulation  of  supplies  at  Resaca.  In 
our  front  were  the  rough  hills  and  gorges  around  Allatoona, 
with  but  few  roads  and  these  very  indifferent,  penetrating 
the  densely  wooded  country.  On  the  23rd,  the  First  Ten 
nessee,  with  the  remainder  of  the  division,  crossed  the  Eto- 
wah  River  at  Island  Ford,  and,  taking  the  advance  of  the 
army,  moved  through  Euharlee  to  Stilesborough. 

At  this  place  we  met  and  defeated  Morgan's  and  Ross's 
brigades.  The  next  two  days  we  continued  to  advance,  skir 
mishing  almost  continuously  with  the  rear  of  Johnson's 
army,  and  during  the  time  crossed  Raccoon  and  Pumpkin 
Vine  Creeks  in  advance  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland. 

On  the  26th,  we  caught  up  with  Wheeler's  cavalry  near 
Burnt  Hickory,  and  after  a  sharp  engagement  he  was  driven 
back  upon  the  intrenchments  held  by  the  infantry,  with  a 
loss  of  seventy-two  prisoners.  We  captured  a  courier  with 
a  dispatch  from  Johnson  to  one  of  his  subordinate  com 
manders,  in  which  he  outlined  his  plan  for  the  next  move, 
which  was  of  great  value  to  Sherman. 

In  this  engagement  the  First  Tennessee  lost  two  men 
captured,  as  follows :  Samuel  Carnes,  Company  C,  and  Cor 
poral  W.  D.  A.  Schrade,  Company  E.  Samuel  Carnes,  after 
surviving  all  the  horrors  of  Andersonville,  was  exchanged, 
and  on  his  return  was  lost  on  the  ill-fated  Sultana,  April  27, 
1865. 

The  heavy  rains  that  had  fallen  during  the  past  few 
days  had  almost  put  an  end  to  the  operations  of  the  army, 


TENNESSEE:  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  155 

for  in  that  part  of  Georgia  turnpikes  were  unknown.  For 
the  next  two  or  three  days  the  boom  of  cannon  could  be 
heard  in  the  direction  of  Pickett's  Mill,  New  Hope  Church 
and  Dallas,  where  the  Union  troops  were  hammering  away 
at  Johnson's  intrenched  lines.  In  this  engagement  Howard's 
Fourth  Corps  suffered  heavily,  losing  about  fifteen  hundred 
men  killed,  wounded  and  captured. 

Johnson  was  holding  Allatoona  Pass,  a  very  strong 
position  on  the  Western  &  Atlantic  railroad,  with  his  left 
extending  to  New  Hope  Church  and  Dallas.  From  now 
tmtil  the  4th  of  June  there  was  almost  continuous  righting, 
night  and  day.  The  battle-lines  were  some  six  or  eight 
miles  long,  and  the  whole  country  was  almost  a  battle-field, 
with  trenches  running  in  all  directions.  This  was  possibly 
the  strongest  and  best  fortified  position  on  the  whole  cam 
paign;  and  around  these  hills  and  mountains,  whose  crests 
were  covered  with  hostile  guns,  flanked  with  rifle-pits,  des 
perate  fighting  was  carried  on  for  several  days,  amid  drench 
ing  rains  and  thunder-storms. 

General  McCook,  in  his  report  of  the  Georgia  campaign, 
says :  ''From  this  time  until  the  3rd  of  June,  the  division 
remained  without  infantry  support,  without  forage  for  its 
horses  and  but  half  rations  for  the  men,  holding  successfully 
a  hilly,  wooded  country,  utterly  unfit  for  cavalry  operations, 
subject  to  continued  and  persistent  attacks  of  all  three  arms 
of  the  service,  both  by  night  and  day." 

On  the  3rd,  the  army  advanced,  with  McCook's  division 
on  the  left  of  Schofield's  corps,  and  in  this  position  moved 
forward  and  took  possession  of  the  Dallas  and  Acworth 
roads.  We  remained  near  this  place,  holding  this  part 
of  our  line,  reconnoitering  and  picketing  heavily  the  coun 
try  some  distance  from  our  position.  In  the  advance  on 
Acworth  we  found  the  enemy  in  force  and  ready  for  a 
fight.  As  we  approached  the  town,  the  First  Tennessee, 
being  in  the  advance,  found  the  enemy  strongly  posted  on  a 
high  hill,  and  after  considerable  skirmishing,  Colonel  Brown- 
low  led  his  regiment  in  a  charge,  drove  the  enemy  back  and 
captured  the  hill. 


156  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

This  was  the  key  to  the  position,  and  the  Confederates, 
knowing  its  importance,  made  several  attempts  to  recapture 
it,  but  were  unsuccessful,  and  fell  back,  leaving  the  First 
Tennessee  in  possession  of  the  hill.  The  skill  and  courage 
displayed  by  Colonel  Brownlow  in  capturing  and  holding 
this  important  place  and  the  equal  determination  of  the 
enemy  to  retake  it,  made  it  a  noted  place,  so  much  so  that  we 
called  it  "Brownlow's  Hill,"  in  honor  of  the  gallant  com 
mander  of  the  First  Tennessee.  After  we  had  captured  the 
hill,  one  section  of  Lilly's  battery  was  sent  forward  and  from 
its  summit  the  enemy's  lines  were  shelled  for  some  time. 
Some  of  the  Union  commanders  made  mention  of  Brown- 
low's  Hill  in  their  reports. 

On  the  5th,  we  moved  to  Acworth  and  drove  the  enemy 
out  and  occupied  the  place.  The  morning  of  the  6th  found 
us  again  in  the  saddle  and  moving  toward  Big  Shanty, 
where  we  met  the  Confederates  and  after  a  light  skirmish 
they  fell  back  and  we  occupied  the  place. 

The  Union  army  threw  up  earthworks  as  it  advanced, 
and  no  doubt  they  are  still  visible  in  many  places,  and  serve 
as  a  reminder  of  what  real  war  is.  All  this  time  the  national 
lines  were  being  gradually  extended  to  the  left.  This  move 
ment  of  Sherman's  army  alarmed  Johnson,  and  on  the  night 
of  the  4th  he  abandoned  his  whole  line  and  fell  back  to  a 
new  line  of  defense,  extending  from  Powder  Springs  on  the 
left  to  Lost  Mountain,  and  thence  to  Pine  and  Kennesaw 
Mountains  on  the  right. 

Cold,  drenching  rains  had  been  falling  almost  continu 
ously  since  the  first  of  the  month,  making  the  roads  almost 
impassable.  Streams  were  up  and  the  earth  was  so  well 
soaked  with  water  that  activity  was  impossible,  while  dry 
places  commanded  a  premium,  and,  like  all  mountainous 
countries  in  wet  weather,  it  was  cold  and  chilly,  consequently 
our  bivouacs  were  very  unpleasant.  The  Union  soldiers 
from  the  East  and  West  were  about  to  be  disappointed  in 
their  anticipations  of  the  beautiful  summer  weather  they  had 
expected  to  find  in  the  "Sunny  South,"  the  land  of  cotton. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  157 

While  nature  was  profuse  in  its  gifts  of  hills  and  moun 
tains,  her  valleys  seemed  to  have  been  overlooked  in  this  part 
of  Georgia. 

The  bridge  over  the  Etowah  had  been  completed  and 
the  welcome  sound  of  the  locomotive  was  heard  in  our  camp. 
When  the  Confederate  soldiers  heard  the  whistle,  they  would 
sing  out,  "There  comes  your  hardtack,  Yank ;"  and  when  a 
whistle  was  heard  from  the  Confederate  side,  the  boys  in 
blue  would  shout  back  the  reply,  "Here  comes  your  corn- 
meal,  Johnny."  The  opportunity  for  this  bit  of  pleasantry 
did  not  occur  very  often  to  soldiers  of  either  army,  but  was 
a  pleasant  and  agreeable  change  from  the  "pop-pop"  of  the 
rifle  on  the  skirmish  line. 

Just  here  I  want  to  digress  and  make  reference  to  two 
incidents  that  have  made  the  name  of  Big  Shanty  and  Alla- 
toona  memorable  in  the  history  of  the  civil  war.  In  April, 
1862,  while  the  Union  army  under  General  O.  M.  Mitchell 
lay  in  camp  near  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee,  J.  J.  Andrews,  a 
citizen  of  Kentucky,  then  in  the  secret  service  of  the  govern 
ment,  planned  an  expedition  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
the  bridges  on  the  Western  &  Atlantic  railroad,  between 
Chattanooga  and  Atlanta.  Twenty-one  soldiers  were  de 
tailed  from  the  Second,  Twenty-first  and  Thirty-third  Ohio 
Volunteers  to  assist  him  in  his  enterprise.  They  were  picked 
men,  and  among  them  were  engineers,  firemen  and  brake- 
men  of  experience,  all  of  them  known  to  be  strong  men,  men 
of  great  courage  and  cool  under  the  most  trying  and  difficult 
circumstances.  This  ill-fated  expedition  has  already  passed 
into  history  as  one  of  the  most  daring  exploits  of  the  war, 
and  the  writer  will  not  attempt  to  go  into  all  the  details  of 
the  pursuit,  capture  and  tragic  death  of  the  leader  and  seven 
men  of  the  famous  raid,  familiarly  known,  as  "A  Race  for 
Life."  They  all  wore  citizens'  dress  and  received  their  in 
structions  from  their  leader.  They  secretly  left  camp  and 
moved  to  the  appointed  rendezvous,  a  thicket  near  Shelby- 
ville,  where,  in  the  darkness  and  amid  the  low,  muttering 
sounds  of  thunder  and  the  vivid  flashes  of  lightning,  these 
brave,  determined  men  perfected  their  plans. 


158  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

After  receiving  their  instructions  they  broke  up  into 
small  squads  and  made  their  way  on  foot  to  Chattanooga, 
where  they  took  the  train  and  went  as  far  south  as  Marietta. 
From  this  place  they  turned  back  and  at  Big  Shanty,  a  station 
that  had  no  telegraph  office  or  an  extra  locomotive,  and 
while  the  train-men  and  passengers  were  at  breakfast,  they 
detached  the  engine  and  three  box-cars  and  started  toward 
Chattanooga  at  full  speed.  These  brave  men  had  been 
drilled  by  Andrews  until  each  one  knew  what  to  do  and  the 
part  he  was  to  perform. 

It  was  a  thrilling  moment.  Andrews  and  his  engineers 
mounted  the  engine,  known  on  the  Western  &  Atlantic  road 
as  the  ''General,''  and  the  first  three  cars  from  the  tender 
were  cut  loose.  Those  selected  for  brakemen  climbed  nimbly 
to  the  top  and  lay  flat  on  the  box-cars,  while  the  remainder 
jumped  inside  and  closed  the  doors.  The  brakes  were  loos 
ened,  the  steam  turned  on  and  the  captured  train  started  on 
its  perilous  journey.  There  was  a  small  detachment  of  Con 
federate  soldiers  at  the  station,  and  when  the  alarm  was 
given  the  soldiers  and  citizens  fired  on  the  now  rapidly  mov 
ing  train. 

The  locomotive,  with  its  precious  freight,  behaved  splen 
didly  for  a  while,  but  soon  came  to  a  "halt"  for  want  of 
steam.  During  a  five  minutes'  stop  the  fire  was  renewed  and 
sufficient  wood  gathered  to  run  some  distance.  While  ob 
taining  wood  and  waiting  for  the  engine  to  steam  up,  the 
wires  were  cut.  At  Cass'  Station,  Andrews  secured  water 
for  his  engine  and  a  time-schedule  of  the  road,  which  was  of 
great  value  to  him.  Nothing  special  occurred  until  Kingston 
was  reached.  Here  a  railroad  leaves  the  main  line  and  runs 
almost  due  west,  following  the  meanders  of  the  Etowah 
River,  terminating  at  Rome. 

The  track  was  blocked  with  cars  and  matters  looked 
gloomy  for  Andrews  and  his  devoted  men,  for  all  knew  full 
well  that  they  were  being  pursued.  Much  valuable  time  was 
lost  in  clearing  the  track  at  this  and  other  points,  to  avoid  a 
possible  collision.  It  is  true  Andrews  had  the  start  of  his 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  159 

pursuers,  but  was  compelled  to  run  slow  to  avoid  accidents 
on  a  crowded  track,  yet  he  usually  kept  the  track  clear  and 
was  given  the  right  of  way  by  telling  those  he  met  that  he 
was  running  a  "special  train"  loaded  with  powder  for  Gen 
eral  Beauregard's  army  at  Corinth. 

It  will  be  necessary  now  to  follow  the  movements  of 
those  left  at  Big  Shanty.  When  the  alarm  was  first  given, 
the  conductor,  W.  A.  Fuller,  and  his  engineer,  Jefferson 
Cain,  and  one  or  two  others,  rushed  excitedly  from  the 
breakfast  table  and  started  at  once  on  foot  up  the  track  after 
the  captured  train.  After  a  chase  of  two  or  three  miles, 
Fuller  and  his  party  found  the  wires  cut.  The  pursuers 
rushed  madly  on  after  the  fugitive  train  and,  fortunately 
for  them,  came  upon  a  squad  of  trackmen  with  a  hand-car. 

The  almost  exhausted  men,  now  elated  at  this  piece  of 
good  luck  and  with  the  aid  of  the  brawny  workmen,  tugged 
away  at  the  cranks,  up  and  down  grade  alike,  as  well  as 
around  curves,  making  almost  eight  miles  an  hour.  At  one 
time,  while  running  at  this  break-neck  speed,  the  hand-car 
reached  the  point  where  a  rail  had  been  removed,  and  the 
car,  with  its  living  freight,  was  tumbled  headlong  into  the 
ditch.  This  caused  them  to  be  more  careful  and  run  on  a 
slower  schedule. 

Near  Etowah,  Fuller  saw  the  "Yonah,"  a  splendid  en 
gine  that  was  used  to  haul  iron  from  the  extensive  furnaces 
of  Major  Cooper,  which  were  several  miles  from  the 
main  line.  This  locomotive  was  standing  on  the  main  track, 
fired  up  and  headed  for  Kingston.  With  this  powerful  loco 
motive,  Fuller  almost  made  a  mile  a  minute  between  this 
place  and  Kingston.  When  Fuller  reached  Kingston,  he 
found  the  track  badly  blocked  and  Andrews  with  his  cap 
tured  train  only  a  few  minutes  the  start. 

After  working  some  little  time  in  trying  to  clear  the 
track,  Fuller  became  impatient  at  the  delay,  abandoned  the 
"Yonah"  and  took  possession  of  the  "Shorter,"  an  engine 
used  on  the  Rome  branch. 

On  leaving  Kingston,  Andrews  found  by  consulting 


160  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

his  time-table  that  there  was  still  a  freight  and  a  passenger 
train  between  Adairsville  and  Chattanooga.  Before  reach 
ing  Adairsville,  Andrews  halted  long  enough  to  cut  the  wires 
and  obstruct  the  track.  Andrews  reached  Adairsville  a  few 
minutes  before  the  freight  train.  Here  Andrews  again 
worked  his  powder-train  racket  and  moved  out  as  fast  as 
steam  would  move  his  train,  while  the  men  in  the  rear  box 
car  dropped  cross-ties  upon  the  track  and  poured  oil  on  the 
rails. 

Calhoun,  the  second  station  north,  was  reached,  and  here 
the  long-expected  passenger  train  was  met,  and  as  the  fugi 
tive  train  glided  by,  Andrews  and  his  men  breathed  easier, 
as  the  track  was  now  clear  to  Chattanooga.  The  next  stop 
made  by  Andrews  was  near  the  bridge  over  the  Oostenaula 
River.  Here  the  pursued  halted  for  the  purpose  of  oiling 
their  engine,  removing  a  rail  and  burning  the  bridge,  but 
before  this  task  was  accomplished  they  were  startled  by  the 
whistle  of  Fuller's  engine. 

Andrews'  only  hope  of  escape  was  to  either  burn  a 
bridge  or  wreck  the  train  of  his  pursuers.  So  far  not  a 
bridge  had  been  burned  and  but  little  damage  had  been  done 
to  the  track.  The  rear  car  of  Andrews'  train  was  dropped 
for  the  purpose  of  wrecking  Fuller's  engine,  but  he,  being  an 
old  railroader,  slowed  up  and,  picking  up  the  abandoned  car, 
continued  the  pursuit.  The  exciting  chase  was  continued 
mile  after  mile,  crossing  bridges  and  passing  stations  at  a 
high  rate  of  speed. 

At  Dalton  a  branch  road  leaves  the  Western  &  Atlantic 
and  runs  to  Cleveland,  Tennessee,  where  it  connects  with  the 
main  line  running  from  Knoxville  to  Chattanooga.  An 
drews  took  the  left-hand  road  at  Dalton  and  dashed  madly 
on  toward  Chattanooga.  Andrews  made  another  attempt  to 
cut  the  wires  and  obstruct  the  track  a  short  distance  from 
Dalton,  but  before  it  was  accomplished  Fuller  again  came 
in  sight  and  the  flight  was  continued.  Andrews  now  placed 
all  his  men  on  the  engine  and  tender,  set  fire  to  his  remain 
ing  car  and  left  it  in  the  center  of  a  small  covered  bridge, 
hoping  as  a  last  resort  that  the  structure  might  burn. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  161 

Fuller  was  so  close  that  he  was  able  to  push  the  burning 
car  across  before  doing  any  damage,  sidetrack  it  and  con 
tinue  to  pursue  the  intrepid  soldiers.  The  "General,"  though 
jaded  and  almost  without  fuel,  was  still  urged  on  to  its  ut 
most  speed,  hoping  yet  that  it  might  be  able  to  reach  the 
Union  line  with  its  precious  load. 

But  it  was  hope  against  despair,  and  when  near  Grays- 
ville,  Georgia,  nineteen  miles  from  Chattanooga,  Andrews 
and  his  devoted  men  abandoned  the  noble  old  locomotive 
that  had  made  such  a  long  run  without  accident.  The  men 
now  fled  in  all  directions  to  avoid  capture,  but  after  enduring- 
great  hardships  all  were  captured  and  placed  in  jail  at  Chat 
tanooga.  Strenuous  efforts  were  now  made  by  the  Confed 
erate  authorities  at  Chattanooga  to  obtain  from  Andrews 
and  his  men  the  name  of  the  leader  and  the  principal  partici 
pants  in  this  great  military  enterprise,  but  all  efforts  were  in 
vain. 

Mistreatment  and  short  rations  were  resorted  to  in  hope 
of  accomplishing  what  other  methods  had  failed  in,  but  all 
was  naught — even  Sims'  dungeon  had  no  effect.  Later  on, 
Andrews  and  seven  of  his  men  were  hung  in  Atlanta.  Eight 
of  this  daring  band  made  their  escape  from  the  Atlanta 
prison  the  following  October;  the  remaining  members  were 
exchanged  in  March,  1863.  The  remains  of  Andrews  and 
his  seven  companions  who  were  executed  in  Atlanta,  now 
sleep  in  the  National  Cemetery  at  Chattanooga,  a  beautiful 
monument  marking  their  last  resting-place. 

A  part  of  these  men  were  confined  for  a  short  time  in 
the  Knoxville  jail.  Some  were  tried  in  the  old  courthouse, 
that  stood  at  that  time  on  Main  street,  opposite  .the  old 
Franklin  House,  the  present  site  of  the  new  courthouse. 
Hon.  O.  P.  Temple,  a  lawyer  and  one  of  the  great  Union 
leaders  of  1861  and  one  of  Knoxville's  prominent  citizens, 
not  only  defended  them  in  that  dark  and  trying  hour,  but 
also  befriended  them  the  best  he  could  under  the  circum 
stances.  Thus  ended  a  great  military  enterprise.  The  dam 
age  done  to  the  railroad  was  so  light  that  it  amounted  to 


162  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

nothing.  If  Andrews  could  have  destroyed  all  the  bridges 
on  the  Western  &  Atlantic  road  as  contemplated,  the  loss 
would  have  been  a  serious  one  and  greatly  embarrassed  the 
Confederates  at  Chattanooga  and  elsewhere. 

Allatoona  Pass,  the  natural  fortress  on  the  line  of  the 
Western  &  Atlantic,  road,  had  already  fallen  into  our  hands 
by  one  of  Sherman's  flank  movements.  It  was  well  fortified 
and  was  made  a  secondary  base  for  storing  supplies.  This 
place  shortly  afterward  became  noted  in  "story  and  song." 
After  the  fall  of  Atlanta  and  when  General  Hood  was  mak 
ing  his  famous  movement  north  for  Tennessee  and  in  the 
rear  of  Sherman's  army,  French's  division  of  Stewart's 
corps  was  ordered  forward  in  advance  of  Hood's  army  to 
capture  this  stronghold.  At  this  place  Sherman  had  a  very 
large  amount  of  rations  stored  for  his  army.  This  unex 
pected  movement  of  Hood  caused  Sherman  to  feel  anxious 
about  their  safety,  and  was  at  a  loss  to  know  where  he  would 
strike  first. 

Allatoona  wras  garrisoned  by  eight  hundred  and  ninety 
men  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Tourtellotte,  Fourth 
Minnesota  Volunteers.  Sherman  signaled  from  Vining's 
Station,  on  the  W.  &  A.  road,  to  the  station  on  Kennesaw 
Mountain,  and  from  there  the  message  was  sent  over  the 
heads  of  the  marching  Confederates,  "through  the  sky," 
eighteen  miles  away  to  the  commander  at  Allatoona  for 
General  Corse  at  Rome  to  be  notified  that  he  must  hasten  at 
once  to  Allatoona  with  reinforcements  for  the  garrison  at 
that  place.  Sherman  hastened  to  the  top  of  Kennesaw  Moun 
tain  and  during  the  day  received  a  message  from  Corse, 
stating  that  he  was  badly  wounded  and  hard  pressed.  Sher 
man  sent  back  the  following  answer :  "Hold  the  fort,  for  I 
am  coming."  General  Cox's  division,  Twenty-third  Corps, 
was  then  rapidly  approaching  with  reinforcements.  From 
this  message  and  the  thrilling  circumstances  under  which  it 
was  sent  has  come  this  great  gospel  hymn,  now  sung  by  all 
Christian  people  the  world  over : 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  163 

"Ho!   my  comrades,   see  the   signal, 

Waving  in  the  sky, 
Reinforcements  now  appearing, 

Victory  is  nigh ! 
CHORUS  :     Hold  the  fort,  for  I  am  coming,  etc." 

This  bloody  engagement  was  fought  October  5,  and  a 
victory  won  by  the  Union  troops  after  a  desperate  struggle 
in  which  French's  division  sustained  heavy  loss.  The  day 
after  the  battle,  General  Corse  wrote  to  General  Sherman  as 
follows :  "I  am  short  a  cheek-bone  and  one  ear,  but  am 
able  to  whip  all  hell  yet."  French  sent  a  flag  of  truce,  sum 
moning  the  garrison  to  surrender,  "to  avoid  the  needless 
effusion  of  blood,"  to  which  Corse  promptly  replied  that  he 
was  prepared  for  "the  needless  effusion  of  blood"  whenever 
it  would  be  agreeable  to  General  French. 

In  no  instance  during  the  war  was  the  value  of  the 
Signal  Corps  more  fully  illustrated  than  in  the  battle  of 
Allatoona,  Ga. 


164  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ATLANTA  CAMPAIGN  CONTINUED — OPERATIONS  AROUND  PINE 
MOUNTAIN — ADVANCE  ON  THE  KENNESAW  LINE — AS 
SAULT  AND  FLANK  MOVEMENT — DARING  FEAT  OF  THE 
FIRST  TENNESSEE  AT  THE  CHATTAHOOCHEE — BROWN- 
LOW'S  NAKED  CHARGE. 

Johnson  had  spent  considerable  time  on  his  works 
around  Pine  Mountain.  In  fact,  we  found  a  fort  on  almost 
every  hill,  each  being  invariably  flanked  with  long  lines  of 
rifle-pits,  with  bristling  bayonets  visible  above  the  head-logs. 
McCook  moved  his  division  from  Acworth  and  drove  back 
the  enemy's  advance  and  formed  in  line  of  battle  near  Pine 
Mountain.  From  this  position  we  could  plainly  see  the 
enemy  in  force  on  the  top  of  the  mountain. 

Johnson  had  not  only  fortified  the  top  of  Pine  Moun 
tain,  but  had  built  a  strong  line  of  works  close  to  the  foot, 
and  from  his  lofty  position  he  could  overlook  the  camp  of 
the  Union  army  and  watch  all  of  its  movements.  Lively 
skirmishing  was  carried  on  between  the  two  armies  night 
and  day,  and  the  keen  crack  of  the  rifle  and  the  still  louder 
sound  of  the  loud-mouthed  cannon  was  heard  all  along  the 
line  as  the  skirmishers  crept  forward. 

Heavy  rain-storms,  accompanied  with  thunder — "heav 
en's  own  artillery" — at  times  could  hardly  be  distinguished 
from  the  terrible  discharges  of  the  artillery  from  both  armies, 
which  were  constantly  belching  and  bellowing  at  each  other. 
The  constant  "pop,  pop"  of  the  carbines  and  muskets  along 
the  skirmish  line  sounded  like  wood-choppers,  while  the 
much-dreaded  "Minie"  would  come  whistling  uncomfortably 
close  to  our  heads.  In  this  way  hundreds  of  the  boys  in 
blue  were  killed  and  wounded. 

Johnson's  lines  extended  from  Lost  Mountain  to  Kenne- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  165 

saw  Mountain.  Pine  Mountain,  or  Pine  Hill,  as  it  is  some 
times  called,  is  a  little  in  front  of  the  other  mountains  and 
to  the  right  of  the  Western  &  Atlantic  Railroad,  but  was 
connected  with  the  main  line  of  works  by  strong  rifle-pits. 
Pine  Mountain  is  conical  in  form  and  very  steep,  and  is  a 
great  deal  higher  than  Lost  or  Kennesaw  Mountains.  On 
its  summit  Johnson  had  a  signal  station  in  full  working 
order,  from  which  he  kept  his  army  fully  posted  about  the 
movements  of  Sherman's  army.  There  were  numerous  bat 
teries  on  this  eminence,  protected  by  heavy  earthworks, 
while  down  near  the  base  a  strong  line  of  rifle-pits  encircled 
the  hill. 

On  the  1 4th,  Lieutenant-General  Leonidas  Polk,  who 
commanded  a  corps  in  Johnson's  army,  was  killed  by  a  shell 
fired  from  Simonson's  Fifth  Indiana  Battery,  Fourth  Corps. 
On  the  1 5th,  we  were  ordered  to  Lost  Mountain  and  took 
up  a  position  on  the  right  of  the  Twenty-third  Corps,  which 
at  that  time  was  the  extreme  right  of  the  Union  army.  The 
next  day  we  advanced  and  drove  the  enemy  from  his  position 
on  the  side  of  the  mountain.  In  this  engagement  the  First 
Tennessee  sustained  the  following  loss : 

Killed — Company  B,  Elcana  Gipson. 

Wounded — Company  M,  Corporal  James  S.  Moody. 

Captured — Company  D,  Corporal  George  Beckner,  John 
B.  Morelock,  Samuel  Short,  William  Rush  and  Jack  Brown ; 
Company  E,  Captain  Charles  H.  Burdick;  Company  G,  W. 
B.  Taylor. 

General  McCook,  in  his  report  of  the  Atlanta  campaign, 
makes  mention  of  the  engagement  at  Lost  Mountain  as  fol 
lows  : 

HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  CAVALRY  DIVISION, 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND. 
In  the  Field  near  Lost  Mountain,  June  I7th,  1864. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  I  found  the  north  side  of 
Lost  Mountain  entirely  inaccessible.  They  opened  four  guns  from 
entrenchments  on  the  top  of  the  mountain  on  my  skirmishers  about 
3  p.  m.,  which  were  silenced  by  a  section  of  my  battery.  Two  regi 
ments,  Fourth  Indiana  and  First  Tennessee,  got  inside  of  the  first 


166  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

line  of  barricades  on  west  side  of  mountain,  but  could  get  no  further. 
Late  in  the  evening,  part  of  their  lines  were  occupied  by  their  in 
fantry;  so  reported  by  Major  Helveti.  I  will  try  to  get  in  the  rear 
of  their  line  to-morrow  morning,  while  General  Stoneman  demon 
strates  in  their  front.  Their  position  is  strong  and  their  force  much 
larger  than  mine,  and  I  do  not  feel  sanguine  of  accomplishing  any 
material  result,  but  think  that  I  can  annoy  them  excessively  and 
attract  their  attention  to  this  end  of  the  line. 

E.  M.  McCooK, 

LIEUT.  D.  F.  How,  Brigadier-General-Commanding. 

Acting  Assistant  Adjutant-General 

General  Sherman  continued  to  press  the  enemy  at  all 
points,  and  on  the  I7th  Johnson  abandoned  his  position  at 
Lost  Mountain  and  fell  back  to  a  strong  position  behind 
Mud  Creek,  which  extended  along  the  base  of  Kennesaw  and 
across  the  Western  &  Atlantic  road.  In  addition  to  this 
line  of  works  at  the  base  of  Kennesaw,  a  still  stronger  line 
was  built  on  the  top,  extending  the  entire  length.  Several 
forts  were  also  erected  on  the  summit  and  artillery  placed  in 
them.  From  the  larger  Kennesaw,  Johnson  could,  as  he  did 
at  Pine  Mountain,  witness  the  movements  of  the  Union 
troops. 

This  was  a  position  of  great  strength  and  was  thor 
oughly  entrenched  and  made  strong  by  a  liberal  use  of  the 
pick  and  shovel.  Johnson's  line  of  retreat  was  along  the 
Western  £  Atlantic  road,  and  as  Sherman  advanced  the  road 
was  kept  repaired  close  on  the  heels  of  the  victorious  army. 
At  times  the  train  would  be  run  almost  up  to  the  skirmish 
line.  In  the  operations  around  Kennesaw  Mountain,  Mc- 
Cook's  division  remained  on  the  right  wing  of  the  Union 
army,  and  on  the  i8th  moved  around  the  left  flank  of  Har- 
dee's  corps  and  drove  his  cavalry  across  Mud  Creek  and 
pursued  it  along  the  Dallas  and  Marietta  wagon-road. 

In  this  venturesome  move,  McCook's  division  succeeded 
in  getting  within  five  miles  of  Marietta,  capturing  on  the 
way  two  hospitals,  which  contained  some  forty  or  fifty  sick 
and  wounded  officers  and  men,  together  with  their  attend 
ants  and  nurses.  Notwithstanding  the  continuous  down- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  167 

pour  of  rain  and  the  bad  condition  of  the  roads,  Sherman 
kept  his  army  moving,  driving  the  enemy  from  one  position 
to  another.  On  the  igth,  the  Union  army  advanced  and 
drove  the  enemy  across  Nose's  Creek. 

During  this  time  McCook's  division  went  as  far  south 
as  Powder  Springs  and  Sweet  Water  Creek,  driving  in  the 
enemv's  pickets  at  the  former  place.  These  movements  on 
Johnson's  left  alarmed  him,  and  he  sent  Hood's  corps  from 
his  right  to  strengthen  this  wing  of  his  army. 

On  the  22nd,  Hood  made  a  furious  attack  with  his 
corps  upon  a  portion  of  the  Twentieth  and  Twenty-third 
Corps,  but  was  repulsed  with  considerable  loss.  This  was 
known  as  the  battle  of  Kulp's  Farm,  and  was  fought  on  the 
right  of  the  Union  line,  near  Olley's  Creek. 

General  Sherman's  skirmishers  had  worked  their  way 
close  up  to  the  foot  of  Kennesaw  Mountain.  This  was  a 
position  of  great  strength,  and  was  held  by  a  veteran  army. 
Sherman  decided  to  make  a  direct  assault  on  the  27th,  and 
ordered  Generals  Thomas  and  McPherson  to  make  prepara 
tions  for  the  attack.  At  the  signal,  the  troops  designated 
for  this  desperate  work  moved  forward  with  that  dash  and 
courage  that  everywhere  characterizes  the  American  soldier, 
but  no  troops  could  stand  the  pelting  storm  of  lead  that  was 
falling  upon  them. 

The  assault  failed,  the  columns  retired,  broken  and 
shattered,  and  the  army  mourned  the  loss  of  hundreds  of  its 
bravest  and  best  men,  Generals  Harker  and  McCook  being 
among  the  slain.  During  this  assault  in  the  center,  Sher 
man  ordered  his  whole  line  forward  and  some  sharp  fighting 
was  done  at  different  places  on  the  line.  Sherman  continued 
his  demonstrations  on  the  right  to  turn  the  position  he  had 
failed  to  carry  by  assault. 

On  the  ist  day  of  July,  the  divisions  of  McCook  and 
Stoneman  moved  through  Powder  Springs  and  down  toward 
Campbellton,  as  far  as  Sweet  Water,  skirmishing  almost  all 
the  way,  but  finding  no  large  bodies  of  the  enemy.  On  the 
night  of  July  2,  General  Johnson  withdrew  his  troops  from 


168  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Kennesaw  Mountain  and  fell  back  to  a  strong  line  of  works 
at  Ruff's  Station,  his  line  extending  across  the  track  of  the 
Western  &  Atlantic  road.  This  new  line  of  works  was  laid 
out  by  a  competent  and  skilful  engineer  and  was  one  of  great 
strength. 

On  the  4th,  we  moved  to  Marietta.  From  this  place 
we  were  ordered  to  the  left,  and  bivouacked  for  the  night  on 
Soap  Creek,  near  Chattahoochee  River.  Sherman  pursued 
the  retreating  enemy  on  to  his  works  at  Ruff's  Station,  and 
here  the  great  national  holiday,  the  Fourth  of  July,  was  quite 
extensively  as  well  as  expensively  celebrated.  The  exercises 
were  of  a  very  lively  nature,  and  thousands  took  part  amid 
the  boom  of  cannon  and  bursting  of  shells.  In  this  engage 
ment,  General  E.  F.  Noyes,  of  Ohio,  lost  a  leg,  and  General 
Sherman  says,  "I  came  very  near  being  shot  myself."  Thus 
in  this  strange  and  singular  manner  was  our  great  Inde 
pendence  Day  celebrated  by  both  armies. 

Two  months  had  passed  since  the  opening  of  the  At 
lanta  campaign,  and  during  that  time  Johnson  had  been 
forced  to  give  up  position  after  position,  had  been  driven 
back  from  strongholds  of  his  own  selection  until  the  spires 
of  the  "Gate  City"  were  almost  visible  to  the  boys  in  blue. 
Johnson,  finding  his  flanks  again  threatened,  fell  back  from 
Ruff's  Station  to  the  Chattahoochee  River,  where  he  en 
trenched  himself  in  the  bend  of  the  river.  The  recent  heavy 
rains  had  so  swollen  the  Chattahoochee  that  the  few  fords 
were  impassable.  Johnson  ordered  all  the  ferry-boats  to 
be  destroyed  for  miles  up  and  down  the  river,  to  prevent 
them  from  being  used  by  the  Union  army. 

McCook's  division  remained  near  the  mouth  of  Soap 
Creek  for  several  days,  guarding  the  ferries  on  this  part  of 
the  Union  line.  During  the  time,  lively  and  continued  skir 
mishing  was  kept  up  along  our  whole  front,  at  times  resem 
bling  a  battle.  The  pickets  would  conceal  themselves  in  the 
bushes  along  the  bank  of  the  river  and  fire  upon  the  Con 
federates,  who  were  in  trenches  or  behind  rocks  and  trees 
on  the  opposite  shore. 


CAPTAIN   CHAS.    H.    UUKDICK.   COMPANY    E 

As  he  appeared  after  his  release  from  prison,    1864 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  169 

It  was  while  McCook's  division  was  holding  this  part 
of  the  Union  line  that  the  First  Tennessee,  under  Colonel 
Brownlow,  performed  one  of  the  most  daring  and  character 
istic  feats  of  the  war.  Colonel  Brownlow  was  ordered  to  a 
point  on  the  river  supposed  to  be  fordable,  with  orders  to 
cross  and  develop  the  strength  of  the  enemy  on  the  opposite 
side.  The  place  where  he  was  ordered  to  cross  was  at  Coch- 
ran's  Ford,  some  little  distance  above  the  mouth  of  Soap 
Creek  and  near  Powers'  Ferry.  Whether  the  order  eman 
ated  from  General  Sherman,  the  corps,  division  or  brigade 
commander  wras  a  subject  that  was  "cussed  and  discussed" 
by  the  boys,  both  during  and  after  the  execution  of  the  order, 
and  the  conclusion  was  reached  that  the  "General"  who  is 
sued  it  must  have  considered  the  men  of  the  First  Tennessee 
not  only  web-footed  but  thick-skinned  fellows,  capable  of 
swimming  a  river  which  they  or  their  horses  could  not  ford, 
and  of  going  into  battle  minus  clothing  or  even  wearing  the 
proverbial  undress  uniform  of  a  Georgia  major — "a  paper 
collar  and  a  pair  of  spurs." 

They  arrived  at  the  designated  point  about  3  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  while  the  rain  was  falling  in  torrents,  and 
at  daylight  discovered  a  small  force  of  the  enemy  on  the 
other  side,  supposed  to  number  twenty-five  or  thirty  men, 
who  had  the  advantage  of  being  on  higher  ground  and  pro 
tected  by  trees  and  rocks.  As  most  of  the  regiment  was 
deployed  along  the  river  and  were  busily  engaged  in  sending 
their  leaden  compliments  across,  a  few  of  the  men  charged 
into  the  stream  without  the  slightest  knowledge  of  its  depth, 
the  condition  of  its  bed  or  the  course  of  the  ford. 

As  they  advanced  under  a  brisk  fire,  the  water  getting 
deeper  and  deeper,  the  boulders  on  the  bottom  getting  bigger, 
men  and  horses  floundering  and  wallowing,  the  bullets  zip, 
zipping  and  pattering  in  the  water,  it  became  evident  that  it 
was  not  a  proper  place  for  good  cavalrymen  to  cross,  and 
they  came  back  out  of  that  river  tolerably  fast — at  least, 
much  faster  than  they  went  in.  Though  their  spirits  and 
ardor  as  well  as  their  clothing  and  ammunition  were  some- 


170  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

what  dampened  in  their  futile  attempt  to  cross,  they  had 
no  idea  it  would  be  the  last  of  it,  or  that  they  would  permit 
such  an  insignificant  force  to  hold  them  longer  in  check. 

A  consultation  of  the  officers  was  held,  and  it  was  de 
cided  to  find  a  native  who  knew  the  ford  and  to  show  its 
course.  Meanwhile  their  carbines  were  kept  busy,  and  as 
the  day  wore  on,  Colonel  Dorr,  commanding  the  brigade, 
made  his  appearance  and  seemed  as  mad  as  a  hornet  because 
the  boys  were  not  in  possession  of  the  opposite  side.  Dis 
satisfied  with  explanations  made,  he  gave  Brownlow  per 
emptory  orders  to  move  at  once  on  the  enemy,  and  uttering 
an  unnecessary  threat  that  would  be  executed  in  case  his 
order  was  not  promptly  obeyed. 

The  acting  brigade  general  rode  off,  leaving  Rev.  Wil 
liam  G.  Brownlow's  gallant  son  in  a  truly  "fighting-mad" 
frame  of  mind.  These  were  the  facts  as  they  came  to  the 
men  in  the  ranks.  Soon  thereafter,  a  few  of  the  boys  were 
called  to  the  rear — there  were  just  nine  men  in  all — and 
Colonel  Brownlow  said,  "Boys,  we  are  going  to  cross  that 
river.  It  is  plain  we  can't  ford  it  here,  and  as  we  have  no 
pontoons,  and  can't  very  well  make  a  swimming  charge, 
we'll  find  another  way  or  break  the  breeching." 

Then,  giving  directions  for  the  men  at  the  ford  to  keep 
up  an  incessant  fire  so  as  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  enemy 
from  the  move  about  to  be  made,  the  colonel  led  his  little 
squad  through  the  brush  to  a  point  about  a  mile  up  the  river, 
behind  a  bend,  where,  lashing  a  couple  of  logs  together  and 
placing  their  carbines,  cartridge-boxes  and  belts  thereon, 
they  stripped  to  the  skin  and,  leaving  their  hats,  boots  and 
clothing  behind,  swam  the  river,  pushing  the  raft  in  front 
of  them. 

The  appearance  of  nine  naked  men  with  belts  on,  as  they 
stood  in  line,  was  somewhat  ludicrous,  and  while  Brownlow 
was  giving,  in  undertones,  the  directions  and  plan  of  attack, 
it  was  difficult  to  repress  the  humorous  remarks  interjected 
by  the  boys,  witty  expressions,  some  of  them,  that  would 
make  the  gravest  soldier  laugh,  but  would  not  be  appreciated 


TENNESSEE;  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  171 

by  civilians  unfamiliar  with  military  terms.  "I'll  be  durned 
if  this  ain't  baring  our  breasts  to  the  foe,  for  a  fact,"  said 
one.  "I  reckon  the  rebs  will  climb  them  trees  when  they  find 
out  we're  a  lot  of  East  Tennessee  bear  hunters,"  put  in  an 
other.  "Talk  low,  talk  low!"  said  Brownlow,  "for  the  suc 
cess  of  this  attack  depends  upon  our  quietness  until  we  close 

in  with  the  game,  and  then  you  may  yell  like ."  Well, 

they  started,  with  trailed  carbines,  into  the  cedar  thicket, 
which  concealed  them  from  the  enemy's  view,  leaving  one 
man  to  guard  the  raft,  and  moved  as  rapidly  as  the  nature  of 
the  ground  would  permit,  but  the  funny  expressions  soon 
gave  place  to  some  that  were  in  violation  of  the  Third  Com 
mandment. 

They  were  all  "tenderfoots,"  and  as  the  sharp  stones 
and  dry  twigs  harrowed  their  soles,  and  their  naked  bodies 
were  scratched  and  punctured  by  the  cedar  brush  and  stung 
by  insects,  some  vigorous  profanity  was  naturally  indulged 
in.  "Curse  low,  men,"  ordered  Brownlow  as  he  turned  his 
head,  and  in  doing  so  he  nearly  stumbled  to  the  ground,  but 
as  he  recovered  himself  and  went  limping  along  he  continued, 
in  a  very  loud  voice,  "The  occasion  is  worthy  of  considerable 
profanity,  but  cuss  low,  cuss  low !"  Coming  to  a  road  that 
led  to  the  ford,  about  four  hundred  yards  in  the  rear  of  the 
enemy,  and  reconnoitering  the  location  and  number  of  the 
rebel  reserves,  they  formed  for  the  charge,  and  moved 
quietly  forward,  unseen  by  the  rebs,  until  they  got  within 
forty  or  fifty  yards  of  them. 

Then,  turning  their  carbines  loose  and  rushing  on  them 
with  a  yell,  in  a  very  few  minutes  most  of  those  Confederates 
were  awaiting  the  orders  of  the  Tennesseans.  Some  of 
them  got  away,  but  they  bagged  twelve.  One  of  the  last  to 
give  up  was  a  freckled-faced  fellow,  half  concealed  behind  a 
tree.  When  he  was  covered  and  surrendered,  he  threw 
down  his  gun  and  said:  "I  surrender,  but  dog-gone  my 
skin,  Yanks,  'taint  fair  to  come  at  us  in  that  way.  If  we'uns 
had  been  strong  enough  to  take  you'uns,  the  Confederate 
government  'ud  hung  you  all  for  spies,  as  you  hain't  got  no 
uniforms  on." 


172  HISTORY  01?  FIRST  REGIMENT 

The  prisoners  were  hustled  up  the  river  to  the  raft, 
where  they  swam  across  in  advance  of  their  captors  and 
were  received  by  some  of  the  boys,  who  had  come  up  to  cover 
the  retreat,  if  necessary.  Thus  a  simple  little  order  was 
executed.  The  rebels  said  it  was  a  "Yankee  trick."  We'll 
agree  that  it  was.  Now,  you  will  notice,  the  colonel  of  the 
regiment  went  into  that  "scrimmage"  just  as  naked  as  the 
other  boys.  He  might  have  had  his  clothes  carried  across 
the  river  for  him  by  one  of  the  privates,  or  he  might  have 
detailed  a  lieutenant  or  a  captain  to  lead  the  attack,  while 
he,  in  some  safe  position,  viewed  the  battle  "from  afar." 
But,  like  a  true  volunteer,  standing  not  upon  his  dignity  or 
rank,  he  was  willing  to  bear  the  same  hardships  or  share 
the  same  fate  as  the  privates. 

General  McCook  makes  honorable  mention  of  this  dar 
ing  feat,  said  to  be  the  only  naked  charge  made  during  the 
war : 

HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  CAVALRY  DIVISION, 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND, 

July  pth,  1864. 

GENERAL:  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  a  detachment  under 
Colonel  Dorr  crossed  the  pontoon  this  afternoon,  and  scouted  the 
country  in  front  of  General  Schofield.  They  found  the  enemy's  cav 
alry  there  in  force. 

Brownlow  performed  one  of  his  characteristic  feats  to-day.  I 
had  ordered  a  detachment  to  cross  at  Cochran's  Ford.  It  was  deep, 
and  he  took  them  over  naked,  nothing  but  guns,  cartridge-boxes  and 
hats.  They  drove  the  enemy  out  of  their  rifle-pits,  captured  a  non 
commissioned  officer  and  three  men,  and  the  two  boats  on  the  other 
side.  They  would  have  got  more  but  the  rebels  had  the  advantage 
in  running  through  the  bushes  with  clothes  on.  It  was  certainly  one 
of  the  funniest  sights  of  the  war,  and  a  very  successful  raid  for 
naked  men  to  make. 

Everything  is  quiet  along  the  line,  and  citizens  on  the  other  side 
say  the  enemy  were  totally  unprepared  for  a  crossing  on  this  flank. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

E.  M.  McCooK, 

Brigadier-General  Commanding  Division. 
GENERAL  W.  L.  ELLIOTT,  Chief  of  Cavalry. 

The  morning  after  this  occurrence,  notice  was  given  of 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  173 

the  changed  situation  by  a  reb,  yelling  out  across  the  river : 
"Hello,  Yank!"  "What  do  you  want,  Johnny?"  "Can't 
talk  to  you'uns  any  more."  "How  is  that?"  "Orders  to 
dry  up."  "What  for,  Johnny?"  "Oh,  Jim  Brownlow  with 

his  d d  Tennessee  Yankees  swam  over  upon  the  left 

last  night  and  stormed  our  rifle-pits  naked,  captured  sixty  of 
our  boys  and  made  'em  swim  back  with  him.  We'uns  have 
got  to  keep  you'uns  on  your  side  of  the  river  now."  This 
expedition  was  quite  succcessful,  but  it  completely  broke  up 
the  friendly  relations  that  had  existed  the  past  two  days 
between  the  boys  in  blue  and  gray  along  the  banks  of  the 
Chattahoochee. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  8th,  Bird's  Third  Brigade, 
Third  Division  of  the  Twenty-third  Corps,  laid  a  pontoon 
near  us  at  Phillips'  Ferry  and  crossed  over  without  much 
opposition,  and  intrenched.  In  this  brigade  there  were  two 
Tennessee  regiments  that  had  formerly  belonged  to  Mor 
gan's  Seventh  Division,  Army  of  the  Ohio,  namely,  the  First 
and  Fifth,  the  latter  being  in  our  old  brigade  when  we  were 
at  Cumberland  Gap,  in  1862.  The  most  of  the  crossings  for 
eight  or  ten  miles  along  the  south  side  were  kept  guarded, 
the  enemy  being  protected  by  detached  fortifications  and 
rifle-pits. 

On  the  night  of  the  Qth,  Johnson  moved  his  army  to 
the  south  side  of  the  Chattahoochee,  burned  the  railroad 
bridge  and  fell  back  to  Peachtree  Creek,  where  he  again 
built  a  strong  line  of  works  along  the  south  bank.  The 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  under  McPherson,  was  transferred 
from  the  right  to  the  left,  near  Roswell,  above  Powers' 
Ferry,  where  in  a  few  days  it  crossed,  the  remainder  of 
Sherman's  army  crossing  at  Pace's  Ferry,  below  the  mouth 
of  Soap  Creek. 

McCook's  division  was  ordered  to  the  right,  below  the 
Western  &  Atlantic  road,  where  it  rebuilt  an  old  fort  near 
where  a  bridge  had  been  burned.  Lilly's  battery  was  placed 
in  the  fort,  and  on  the  I7th  the  enemy  opened  on  our  battery 
with  nine  guns  from  the  forts  on  the  south  side  of  the  river. 


174  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

The  fort  being  rudely  constructed,  the  enemy's  shells  almost 
destroyed  the  works  and  compelled  the  battery  to  cease 
firing  for  a  short  time,  but  in  the  afternoon  the  enemy  were 
discovered  leaving,  when  Lilly's  guns  were  run  back  and 
opened  a  rapid  fire  on  the  retreating  columns. 

After  crossing  the  river,  we  moved  forward  on  the 
Sandtown  road,  skirmishing  heavily  with  the  enemy  during 
the  afternoon,  occupying  their  position  at  Mason's  Church 
during  the  night.  On  the  I7th  day  of  July,  General  Joseph 
E.  Johnson  was  relieved  by  the  authorities  at  Richmond  and 
General  J.  B.  Hood  placed  in  command.  The  greatest  reason 
assigned  for  his  removal  was  his  failure  to  check  Sherman 
and  his  victorious  army,  which  was  fast  approaching  the 
objective  point. 

The  thundering  of  the  artillery  and  the  rattle  of  mus 
ketry  had  been  heard  from  Tunnell  Hill  almost  to  the  very 
gates  of  Atlanta,  and  this  city  and  its  important  railway  con 
nections  were  now  in  danger.  One  peculiar  feature  of  the 
campaign  so  far  was  that  Johnson  had  never  assaulted  the 
Union  lines,  but  on  the  other  hand  had  done  the  most  of  his 
fighting  behind  positions  of  his  own  selection  and  works 
that  were  almost  impregnable.  But  the  patience,  skill  and 
watchfulness  which  he  displayed  on  this  memorable  cam 
paign  entitled  him  to  more  praise  than  criticism.  In  the 
language  of  the  immortal  Lincoln  in  reference  to  a  proposed 
change  of  commanders,  said :  "It  is  a  bad  plan  to  swap 
horses  in  the  middle  of  a  stream." 

On  the  23rd,  McCook's  division  was  attacked  near 
Mason's  Church,  but  repulsed  the  enemy.  After  this,  orders 
were  given  to  build  a  line  of  works.  In  this  engagement, 
vStephen  Smith,  of  Company  A,  was  wounded. 

There  was  constant  skirmishing  and  heavy  cannonading 
maintained  along  our  whole  front.  McCook's  division  was 
thrown  on  Thomas's  right,  along  Proctor's  Creek,  covering 
the  Mason  and  Turner's  Ferry  roads,  and  while  holding  this 
position  was  attacked  on  the  afternoon  of  the  25th.  After 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  175 

a  brisk  skirmish,  the  enemy  were  driven  back,  and  we  con 
tinued  to  hold  this  part  of  Thomas'  line  until  the  27th. 

On  the  2Oth,  just  three  days  after  Hood  assumed  the 
command  of  the  Confederate  army,  he  left  his  works  and 
assaulted  our  lines  furiously  at  Peachtree  Creek,  but  was 
repulsed  with  severe  loss.  The  desperate  fighting  on  the 
22nd,  in  which  the  gallant  McPherson,  commanding  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  was  slain,  on  the  Union  side,  and 
General  Walker,  on  the  Confederate  side,  and  Ezra  Church, 
the  28th,  were  all  fought  by  the  new  Confederate  com 
mander,  and  the  result  of  each  has  already  passed  into  his 
tory.  In  these  severe  engagements,  Hood  was  the  attacking 
party.  He  was  brave  and  determined,  but  rash,  and  was  now 
about  to  lose  the  reputation  that  he  had  made  in  Virginia, 
under  Longstreet,  as  a  "stubborn  fighter."  In  these  assaults 
his  loss  was  heavy,  and  he  soon  lost  all  taste  for  such  reck 
lessness  and  learned  that  it  was  much  easier  to  defend  rifle- 
pits  than  to  capture  them  by  assault,  and  subsequent  events 
proved  that  his  dash  and  eagerness  to  "rush"  into  battle  cost 
him  his  command,  and  the  Confederacy  an  army. 


176  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

RAID  BELOW  ATLANTA — GREAT  DESTRUCTION  OF  PROPERTY — 
DEATH  OF  LIEUT.  ROBERTS — BROWNLOW  REFUSES  TO  SUR 
RENDER — CUTS  THE  LINES — HARDSHIPS  OF  THE  MEN — 
SWIMMING  THE  CHATTAHOOCHEE. 

DIVISION  OE  THE  MISSISSIPPI,  July  25th,  1864. 
SPECIAL  FIELD  ORDER  No.  42. 

General  McCook  and  Colonel  Harrison's  cavalry  will  move 
rapidly  on  Fayetteville  and  the  railroad  beyond,  breaking  it  if  pos 
sible.  General  McCook  will  command  the  joint  cavalry  command, 
his  own  and  Colonel  Harrison's,  but  will  use  Colonel  Harrison's 
fatigued  command  as  a  reserve,  and  his  own  to  reach  the  road  and 
break  it.  The  railroad  when  reached  must  be  substantially  destroyed 
for  a  space  of  two  to  five  miles,  telegraph  wires  pulled  down  as  far 
as  possible  and  hid  in  water  or  destroyed.  The  cavalry  will,  unless 
otherwise  ordered,  move  out  at  daylight  of  Wednesday,  the  27th 
instant,  and  aim  to  reach  and  break  the  railroad  during  the  day  or 
night  of  the  28th,  and,  having  accomplished  this  work,  will  return 
to  their  proper  flank  of  the  army. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  order  that  Sherman  had 
resolved  to  break  the  two  main  roads  running  south  from 
Atlanta.  Stoneman,  with  five  thousand  men,  was  to  move 
upon  and  destroy  the  Atlanta  &  Macon  road,  while  McCook, 
with  a  force  of  about  three  thousand,  five  hundred  men  and 
one  section  of  Lilly's  Eighteenth  Indiana  Battery,  was  to 
break  the  Atlanta  &  West  Point  road.  Before  starting, 
Stoneman  asked  permission  to  make  an  attempt  with  his  own 
division  to  release  the  two  thousand  Union  prisoners  at 
Macon  and  the  twenty  thousand  at  Andersonville. 

Before  starting  on  this  raid,  the  Fourth  Kentucky 
Mounted  Infantry  was  attached  to  the  First  Brigade,  taking 
the  place  of  the  Second  Michigan,  which  had  previously 
been  sent  to  Middle  Tennessee,  where  the  veteran  portion 


A    PONTOON    BRIDGE 


INSTRUCTION    OF    A    RAILROAD   TRACK 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  177 

of  the  regiment  was  doing  guard  duty  along  the  Nashville 
&  Decatnr  Railroad.  General  John  T.  Croxton,  a  young 
and  gallant  Kentuckian,  and  the  former  colonel  of  the 
Fourth  Kentucky,  was  placed  in  command  of  the  brigade 
and  remained  its  commander  until  our  muster-out. 

McCook's  division  was  composed  of  three  brigades. 
Croxton's  brigade  was  composed  of  three  regiments,  and 
had  an  aggregate  strength  at  that  time  of  only  nine  hundred 
and  forty  officers  and  men.  Everything  was  put  in  "trim" 
for  the  raid,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  27th,  McCook  moved 
his  division  back  and  crossed  to  the  north  side  of  the  Chatta- 
hoochee  River  at  Turner's  Ferry.  From  this  place  the  di 
vision  was  moved  south  to  Campbellton,  reaching  the  latter 
place  at  3  p.  m. 

From  this  point  we  still  moved  south  about  six  miles 
to  Smith's  Ferry,  which  is  almost  opposite  Palmetto  Station. 
Here  a  pontoon  bridge  was  laid,  and  we  again  crossed  to  the 
south  side  early  on  the  morning  of  the  28th  with  but  slight 
opposition.  After  crossing,  the  whole  command  mounted 
and  moved  rapidly  toward  Palmetto  Station,  on  the  Atlanta 
&  West  Point  road,  \vith  the  Second  Brigade  in  the  advance. 
About  two  and  one-half  miles  from  the  river  the  roads  fork. 
Croxton's  brigade  took  the  right-hand  road  and,  with  the 
First  Tennessee  in  the  advance,  pressed  on  rapidly,  encoun 
tering  only  small  squads  of  the  enemy,  reaching  Palmetto 
Station  at  sunset,  simultaneously  with  the  Second  Brigade, 
which  had  moved  on  the  left-hand  road. 

At  this  place  two  hours  were  spent  in  destroying  the 
railroad  and  telegraph  line.  We  captured  the  mail,  burned 
the  depot,  which  contained  a  lot  of  cotton  and  a  large  quan 
tity  of  salt,  bacon  and  flour ;  tore  up  and  destroyed  the  rail 
road  track,  cut  and  pulled  down  the  telegraph  wire,  and  at 
9  p.  m.  mounted  and  moved  toward  Love  joy's  Station,  on 
the  Atlanta  &  Macon  road,  by  way  of  Fayetteville,  which 
was  reached  at  daylight  on  the  29th,  destroying  at  this 
place  the  mail  and  a  lot  of  tobacco,  whiskey  and  sacks. 

At  5  a.  m.  the  First  Tennessee  was  ordered  forward, 


178  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

supported  by  a  battalion  of  the  Eighth  Iowa  under  Major 
Root,  capturing  on  the  way  about  five  hundred  loaded 
wagons,  which  we  turned  over  to  the  rear  guard  to  burn, 
and  in  this  way  we  were  able  to  help  many  a  distressed 
quartermaster  to  make  settlement  and  "balance  accounts." 
The  most  of  the  wagons  belonged  to  Hood's  army,  and 
among  them  were  several  paymasters,  with  chests  well  filled 
with  Confederate  money.  The  boys  filled  their  pockets,  and 
on  meeting  a  comrade  who  had  failed  to  "suddenly  become 
rich,"  would  make  him  a  present  of  a  few  thousand  dollars 
by  way  of  a  joke. 

We  were  soon  overstocked  with  quartermasters,  pay 
masters,  teamsters  and  camp-followers,  and,  to  be  truthful, 
we  had  all  the  good  horses  and  mules  that  we  needed.  The 
sorry  ones  were  ordered  to  be  killed.  As  we  approached 
Flint  River,  the  Confederates  fired  the  bridge,  but  the  First 
Tennessee,  led  by  Colonel  Brownlow,  charged  across  the 
burning  bridge,  captured  the  guard,  extinguished  the  fire 
and  saved  the  bridge.  We  reached  the  railroad  at  Love  joy's 
Station  at  7  a.  m.,  after  an  ail-night  march,  and  immediately 
cut  the  wire,  and  then  commenced  the  destruction  of  the 
track,  depot  and  cars. 

Major  Thornburgh,  First  Tennessee,  and  Major  Root, 
Eighth  Iowa,  were  ordered  to  the  Station  with  their  bat 
talions  to  destroy  the  depot,  cars  and  all  other  property, 
which  they  did  most  effectually.  They  destroyed  three  hun 
dred  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  cotton  and  salt,  one  hun 
dred  dollars'  worth  of  tobacco — so  estimated  by  our  officers 
— besides  a  large  quantity  of  bacon,  lard  and  some  miscel 
laneous  property.  While  this  was  going  on,  the  road  was 
lined  with  men,  who  were  busy  tearing  up  the  track  and 
rendering  the  rails  useless  by  heating  and  bending  them 
around  trees  or  over  a  pile  of  cross-ties. 

When  an  army  was  pressed  for  time,  the  usual  method 
of  rendering  rails  unfit  for  use  was  the  bending  process, 
which  wras  both  simple  and  quickly  done.  A  dozen  or  so 
ties  were  piled  together,  and  across  this  the  rails  were  placed 


THE    ADVANCE 


FIRST    LIEUTENANT   JOHN    ROBERTS,  COM  PAN  Y   C, 

Killed  at  Lovejoy's  vStation,  Ga.,  July  29,  1864 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  179 

side  by  side  until  it  was  thoroughly  covered ;  on  each  end  of 
the  rails  two  heavy  ties  were  placed,  and  when  the  rails  got 
hot  enough  from  the  burning  ties  the  weight  on  the  ends 
would  force  them  to  the  ground,  while  the  raiders  would  be 
many  miles  away. 

General  McCook  expected  to  communicate  with  Stone- 
man  from  this  place,  as  he  was  supposed  to  be  at  or  near 
McDonough,  and  for  that  purpose  kept  his  division  waiting 
until  2  p.  m.  At  times  the  troops  had  to  cease  the  destruction 
of  the  road  and  take  up  their  arms  for  battle.  McCook,  find 
ing  it  impossible  to  communicate  with  Stoneman,  decided 
that  it  was  unwise  and  dangerous  to  wait  longer  and  ordered 
his  command  to  return  to  Moore's  bridge,  on  the  Chattahoo- 
chee  River,  by  the  way  of  Newnan,  on  the  Atlanta  &  West 
Point  road. 

The  delay  almost  proved  fatal,  as  his  command  was 
almost  surrounded  by  Wheeler's  cavalry  before  starting. 
McCook  had  not  moved  his  division  more  than  one  mile 
when  Croxton's  brigade,  which  was  in  the  rear,  was  cut 
off  from  the  remainder  of  the  division  and  attacked  with 
great  vigor  from  the  front  and  right  flank  by  Armstrong's 
division.  The  enemy  rushed  upon  our  little  brigade  with 
all  the  ferocity  of  savages,  but  after  a  severe  hand-to-hand 
conflict  they  were  handsomely  repulsed,  but  not  without 
severe  loss  to  the  brigade. 

Colonel  Dorr,  Eighth  Iowa,  was  wounded,  his  adjutant 
and  one  lieutenant  killed.  The  First  Tennessee  mourned  the 
loss  of  Lieutenant  John  Roberts,  Company  C,  who  fell  in 
this  engagement,  and  like  a  true  soldier  died  at  his  post  of 
duty.  He  was  brave,  kind  and  courteous,  beloved  by  all,  and 
especially  by  the  members  of  his  company,  who  knew  of  his 
worth.  His  remains  now  rest  in  the  beautiful  National 
Cemetery  at  Marietta,  Georgia.  The  writer  visited  the  ceme 
tery  a  few  years  ago  and  found  his  grave. 

The  Fourth  Kentucky  lost  two  companies  by  capture, 
and  several  men  killed  and  wounded.  After  this  spirited  en 
gagement,  Croxton  was  able  to  withdraw  his  brigade,  and 


180  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

now  moved  rapidly  forward  and  overtook  the  division.  Me- 
Cook  now  turned  to  the  left  and  moved  toward  Newnan, 
with  the  Second  brigade  in  the  rear,  until  Flint  River  was 
reached.  Here  the  division  commander  again  placed  Crox- 
ton's  brigade  in  the  rear,  and  during  that  July  night  it  cov 
ered  the  rear. 

The  command  was  kept  moving  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
but  the  column  was  greatly  impeded  by  the  pack-train  and 
prisoners,  \vhich  at  times  completely  blocked  the  road.  The 
men  and  horses  were  quite  exhausted,  and  it  was  no 
uncommon  thing  to  find  the  men  riding  along  sound  asleep, 
regardless  of  the  strict  orders  from  the  officers  to  keep  awake 
and  the  column  well  closed  up.  All  this  time  the  rear  guard 
was  hard  pressed  and  the  keen  crack  of  the  carbine  was 
heard  ringing  out  on  the  midnight  air,  warning  us  that  the 
enemy  was  close  upon  the  rear,  covered  by  the  gallant  Fourth 
Kentucky,  under  Colonel  Kelly. 

The  advance  guard  was  fired  upon  several  times  during 
the  night,  and  we  momentarily  expected  to  be  attacked  in 
flank,  as  there  seemed  to  be  a  great  many  roads  tapping  the 
one  over  which  we  were  marching.  When  Croxton's  bri 
gade  reached  the  bridge  over  White  Water  Creek,  the  First 
Tennessee  was  halted  and  formed  in  line,  covering  the  road 
where  it  crossed  the  stream,  with  orders  to  destroy  the 
bridge  and  then  cover  the  rear  to  Newnan,  which  was  about 
ten  miles  southwest.  The  rear  now  became  the  place  of 
honor,  as  well  as  danger,  but  the  First  Tennessee  never 
asked  for  an  easy  place. 

A  small  train  of  wagons  was  captured  and  destroyed 
during  the  night.  About  10  a.  m.  on  the  3Oth,  the  advance 
guard  reached  the  Atlanta  &  West  Point  road  near  Newnan, 
and  immediately  cut  the  telegraph  wire  and  destroyed  the 
road  in  three  places.  This  accomplished,  McCook  pushed 
on  to  Newnan,  where  he  encountered  an  infantry  force  that 
had  been  stopped  on  its  way  to  Atlanta  by  the  break  he  had 
made  in  the  road  at  Palmetto  on  the  28th.  McCook,  find 
ing  the  force  at  this  place  too  strong  and  escape  cut  off  by 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  181 

this  route,  moved  to  the  left  and  rear  of  the  town,  with 
Harrison's  brigade  in  the  rear.  He  had  moved  his  division 
but  a  short  distance,  when  he  found  a  heavy  force  in  his 
front.  This  temporary  check  gave  the  infantry  time  to  move 
up  to  the  support  of  Wheeler's  cavalry,  which  greatly  out 
numbered  the  Union  troops.  Wheeler  had  with  him  the 
divisions  of  Armstrong,  Jackson  and  Roddy.  The  pursuing 
cavalry  now  had  him  completely  hemmed  in  and  he  was 
compelled  to  drop  his  captives  and  fight.  McCook's  small 
division,  which  had  been  greatly  reduced  by  death  and  cap 
ture,  was  in  great  danger  of  being  captured.  He  ordered 
his  command  to  prepare  for  action. 

Croxton  was  ordered  to  form  his  brigade  in  line  of 
battle,  covering  a  road  to  his  right,  with  the  Eighth  Iowa  on 
the  left,  the  Fourth  Kentucky  in  the  center  and  the  First 
Tennessee  on  the  right.  The  troops  were  dismounted,  and 
at  the  command  charged  forward  under  a  hot  fire,  driving 
back  the  enemy  on  this  part  of  the  line  and  holding  them  in 
check.  Just  then  a  force  was  seen  advancing  in  line  of  battle 
in  McCook's  front.  Croxton  was  ordered  to  mount  his  bri 
gade  and  move  forward  at  once. 

This  order  was  executed  promptly  and  in  gallant  style 
by  the  Eighth  Iowa,  supported  by  the  First  Tennessee,  in 
which  Rose's  brigade  of  Texas  troops  were  driven  back  in 
great  confusion,  the  general  and  a  part  of  his  staff  being 
captured.  McCook's  division  was  almost  surrounded  and  all 
avenues  of  escape  nearly  cut  off.  The  fighting  was  severe ; 
in  fact,  it  was  one  series  of  brilliant  charges  and  counter 
charges.  Lieutenant  Miller, "who  was  in  command  of  the 
section  of  Lilly's  batery,  had  in  the  two  hours  of  hard  fight 
ing  used  up  all  the  canister,  and  had  only  a  few  shells  left. 
The  enemy  was  fast  closing  in  upon  his  guns  when  the  First 
Tennessee  was  ordered  to  charge  and  save  them  if  possible. 
The  regiment  raised  the  "yell,"  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
enemy  was  sent  flying  to  the  rear.  The  regiment  captured 
several  prisoners  in  this  charge,  and  after  sending  them  to 
the  rear,  charged  on  after  the  flying  enemy  until  their  second 


182  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

line  was  reached.  Here  the  firing  was  very  heavy,  and  all 
that  saved  us  was,  they  fired  too  high.  The  regiment  was 
then  ordered  to  fall  back. 

The  chances  of  escape  now  looked  bad,  and  thoughts 
of  a  horrible  prison  life  seemed  close  at  hand,  for  only  a 
short  distance  away  were  the  well-known  prison  pens  of 
Andersonville  and  Macon,  where  at  that  time  twenty-two 
thousand  Union  soldiers  were  confined.  McCook  ordered 
Lieuteant  Miller  to  destroy  his  two  guns,  which  had  been 
doing  such  deadly  work,  cut  the  harness  to  pieces  and  mount 
his  men  on  the  artillery  horses. 

All  this  time  the  enemy  was  fast  closing  in  on  all  sides 
and,  so  far  as  we  could  see,  we  were  completely  surrounded. 
McCook  had  put  every  man  he  had  into  the  fight,  even  his 
escort,  and  then  was  unable  to  hold  the  advantage  gained 
or  even  get  through  their  line.  McCook,  finding  his  position 
completely  enveloped  by  a  vastly  superior  force,  and  when 
the  day  seemed  lost  and  all  hope  of  escape  abandoned,  called 
a  council  of  his  brigade  and  regimental  commanders  to  de 
cide  what  to  do.  McCook  spoke  of  their  calamity  and  the 
prospect  of  being  made  prisoners,  when  Colonel  Brownlow 
remarked  that  he  would  be  d d  if  he  would  ever  sur 
render.  " What,"  said  McCook,  "will  you  do  ?  How  can  you 
help  it?r'  "Why,"  said  Brownlow,  "I  can  and  will  cut  my 
way  out.  I  would  about  as  soon  be  killed  in  the  attempt  as 
to  be  sent  to  Andersonville  or  Libby.  They  treat  South 
erners  worse  in  those  prisons  than  they  do  you  Northern 
men,  and  I  am  going  to  cut  my  way  out  if  my  men  will 
follow  me." 

When  Colonel  Brownlow  returned  to  his  regiment  and 
told  the  men  what  he  proposed  to  do,  they  raised  a  shout  and 
said,  "You  are  right,  Colonel ;  by  G — d,  we  will  follow  you !" 
Then  Brownlow  went  in  one  direction  and  McCook  another 
both  reaching  Marietta  about  the  same  time.  Brownlow 
was  ordered  to  lead  the  brigade  in  this  forlorn  hope.  The 
route  selected  was  through  a  large  open  field,  but  upon  ex 
amination  an  impassable  ditch  was  found,  but,  afer  some 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  183 

little  delay  Brownlow's  eagle  eye  caught  sight  of  a  small 
bridge,  across  which  he  led  his  regiment.  Croxton  rode  out 
with  Colonel  Brownlow,  and  after  crossing  the  ravine  or 
dered  Brownlow  to  form  his  regiment  on  the  crest  of  a  ridge, 
facing  the  enemy. 

Croxton  ordered  up  the  remainder  of  his  brigade  and 
sent  McCook  word  that  he  was  out  and  that  the  road  was 
clear.  McCook  at  once  ordered  Croxton  to  move  south  in 
the  direction  of  LaGrange,  but  in  a  short  time  became  sep 
arated  from  his  brigade.  Colonel  Brownlow,  supposing  that 
he  was  captured,  assumed  command  and  moved  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  Chattahoochee  River.  The  command  was  badly 
scattered,  and  it  seemed  like  the  old-time  adage  was  about  to 
be  fulfilled — "Boys,  take  care  of  yourselves,  and  the  devil 
take  the  hindmost  man." 

McCook  came  through  with  detachments  of  the  Second 
and  Third  brigades,  while  a  portion  of  the  Second  remained 
with  Bro\vnlow.  It  was  about  5  p.  m.,  July  30,  when  the 
command  left  the  field  near  Newnan,  and  now  began  a  race 
for  life.  The  men  and  horses  were  utterly  exhausted  and 
worn  out.  The  men  had  been  constantly  in  the  saddle  day 
and  night  ever  since  the  27th  of  June,  with  almost  constant 
fighting  and  no  sleep  except  the  "forty  winks"  snatched 
while  on  the  march.  But  the  men  were  nerved  up  to  the 
supreme  effort  by  the  surrounding  circumstances. 

The  Chattahoochee  River,  with  its  steep,  rugged  banks 
and  swift-flowing  current,  with  no  means  of  crossing,  was 
in  our  front  and  must  be  crossed  before  morning.  All  pris 
oners  and  led  horses  were  dropped  before  starting,  and  with 
a  hostile  army  in  our  rear  we  made  very  good  time  during 
the  night.  Colonel  Brownlow  kept  his  weary  column  moving 
as  rapidly  as  the  circumstances  would  permit,  and  at  I  a.  m. 
on  the  3  ist  reached  the  Chattahoochee  River  at  Rotherwood. 

At  this  place  Brownlow  found  two  small  canoes,  and 
immediately  commenced  crossing  his  troops,  which  was 
necessarily  a  slow  one  on  account  of  the  limited  means  at 
hand.  Colonel  Brownlow  displayed  great  energy  and  cour- 


184  HISTORY  OF  I-IRST  REGIMENT 

age  on  this  occasion  and  set  a  noble  example  to  his  men  by 
swimming  the  river  time  and  again,  helping  his  men  to  cross. 
Scores  of  the  men,  becoming  impatient  at  the  slow  process, 
plunged  their  horses  into  the  river  and  succeeded  in  gaining 
the  opposite  shore,  while  others  would  "grab"  a  horse's  tail 
and  make  the  poor  animal  perform  double  duty. 

When  from  two  to  three  hundred  had  succceeded  in 
crossing,  the  enemy  made  an  attack  from  both  sides  of  the 
river  and  captured  scores  of  men,  who,  from  exhaustion  and 
want  of  sleep,  had  laid  down  while  the  men  in  front  were 
crossing,  thinking  they  were  in  no  danger.  It  was  about 
seventy-five  miles  from  this  place  to  Marietta,  and  as  the 
greater  part  of  the  men  had  lost  their  horses  at  the  river,  the 
journey  had  to  be  made  on  foot.  The  route  was  through  a 
hostile  country,  and  as  the  news  had  gone  forth  that  the 
country  was  alive  with  "Yankees"  every  old  Georgia  farmer 
who  had  a  gun  was  on  the  lookout  for  our  men. 

The  Confederate  cavalry  was  divided  up  into  small 
squads  and  kept  the  country  through  which  we  traveled 
thoroughly  guarded,  making  escape  exceedingly  doubtful. 
Some  of  the  boys  were  captured  almost  in  sight  of  the  Union 
pickets.  Others  were  pursued  through  thickets  and  swamps, 
but  at  last  reached  the  Union  line  at  Marietta.  Among  the 
first  to  arrive  was  Colonel  Brownlow  and  a  small  detachment 
of  men  from  different  regiments. 

On  the  2nd  day  of  August,  the  boys  began  to  come  into 
camp,  some  barefooted,  others  without  hats,  but  each  one 
with  a  story  that  would  fill  a  volume.  The  regiment  was 
greatly  reduced  before  starting  on  the  raid,  and  the  writer 
is  sorry  that  he  is  unable  to  give  the  strength  at  that  time. 
The  First  Tennessee  sustained  the  following  loss  on  the 
raid,  which  is  very  light  considering  the  amount  of  service 
rendered : 

Killed — Company  C,  First  Lieutenant  John  Roberts. 

Wounded  and  Captured — Company  K,  Bugler  James 
Ray;  Company  M,  Private  B.  F.  Hously. 

Captured — Adjutant    John    M.    Harris    and    Hospital 


MAP   SHOWING   ROUTE   TAKEN    BY    McCOOK'S   DIVISION, 
Iii  the  rear  of  Atlanta,  July,  1864. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  185 

Steward  S.  H.  Hendrix ;  Company  A,  Captain  Moses  Wiley, 
Privates  Colby  Payne  and  William  Ward ;  Company  D,  Pri 
vates  D.  C.  C.  Brown  and  John  Earls ;  Company  I,  Privates 
William  Gharst,  Hugh  Davis,  W.  F.  Williams  and  Jeremiah 
Rogers ;  Company  C,  Corporal  John  A.  Potter ;  Company  K, 
Lieutenant  A.  M.  Smith  and  Private  John  Dunn;  Company 
L,  Private  Jacob  Collier ;  Company  M,  Farier  S.  R.  Taylor, 
Privates  S.  J.  Felknor  and  Jacob  McNeese;  Company  B, 
Calvin  Wolf. 

The  officers  were  first  taken  to  Macon  and  after  a  short 
stay  at  that  place  were  sent  to  Charleston  and  from  there  to 
Columbia.  The  enlisted  men  were  sent  to  Andersonville, 
where,  after  several  months  of  suffering,  some  were  ex 
changed,  while  others  answered  to  the  last  roll-call  on  earth 
and  passed  over  the  river  and  joined  the  vast  army  beyond. 

''Rest  on,  embalmed  and  sainted  dead ! 

Dear  as  the  blood  ye  gave; 
No  impious  footsteps  here  shall  tread 

The  herbage  of  your  grave ! 
Nor  shall  your  glory  be  forgot 

While  Fame  her  record  keeps, 
Or  Honor  points  the  hallowed  spot 

Where  valor  proudly  sleeps." 

After  a  hasty  review  of  the  raid,  no  just  criticism  can  be 
made  of  its  management,  for  it  was  planned  by  an  able  gen 
eral  and  promptly  and  faithfully  executed  by  a  skilful  and 
brave  general,  backed  and  supported  by  gallant  officers  and 
men.  It  is  exceedingly  doubtful,  however,  if  McCook 
had  not  waited  so  long  at  Love  joy's  Station  to  hear  from 
Stoneman,  that  any  misfortune  would  have  overtaken  his 
command.  The  valuable  time  lost  was  wisely  improved 
by  the  enemy,  who  was  rapidly  concentrating  his  forces  at 
Loveioy,  with  Wheeler  between  our  command  and  that  of 
Stoneman.  When  McCook  left  Lovejoy  for  Newnan,  a 
large  force  was  in  his  rear,  as  well  as  on  his  flanks,  so  by 
the  time  his  division  reached  Newnan  it  was  almost  sur 
rounded,  and  nothing  saved  it  from  capture  but  stubborn 
fighting. 


186  HISTORY  OF  FIRST 

McCook,  in  his  official  report  of  the  raid,  says :  "I  re 
gard  the  raid  as  a  brilliant  success,  and  had  the  forces  of 
General  Stoneman  been  able  to  unite  with  mine  near  Mc- 
Donough,  as  I  understood  was  contemplated  by  the  general 
commanding  the  military  division,  I  think  we  might  have 
successively  carried  our  arms  wherever  we  desired,  and 
accomplished  more  magnificent  results  than  any  raid  in  the 
history  of  the  war.  My  whole  loss,  killed,  wounded  and 
missing,  will  not  exceed  five  hundred.  It  is  not  improper 
here  to  refer  to  the  fact  that  the  rebel  papers  acknowledge 
a  loss  of  from  eight  to  nine  hundred,  and  severely  censure 
their  generals  for  not  having,  with  their  vastly  superior 
force,  entirely  destroyed  our  whole  command.  In  con 
cluding  my  report,  I  desire  to  make  special  mention  of  Col 
onel  Brownlow,  First  Tennessee,  and  other  officers  of  my 
command."  *  *  * 

By  the  loth  the  most  of  the  scattered  troops  had  eluded 
their  pursuers  and  made  their  way  to  our  camp  at  Marietta. 

Stoneman's  command  did  not  fare  so  well.  It  seems 
that  he  moved  direct  to  Macon  for  the  purpose  of  releasing 
the  Union  prisoners  confined  there,  but  was  unsuccessful. 
He  went  close  enough  to  shell  the  town,  but  the  place  was 
too  strongly  fortified,  and  he  withdrew  a  short  distance, 
where  he  and  several  hundred  of  his  men  were  captured. 
The  remainder  of  his  troops  cut  their  way  out  and  returned. 
Stoneman's  troops,  however,  did  considerable  damage  to  the 
road. 

After  the  famous  McCook  raid  in  the  rear  of  Atlanta, 
the  First  Tennessee  lay  quietly  in  camp  at  Marietta,  enjoy 
ing  for  a  short  time  the  first  rest  since  the  opening  of  the 
campaign.  This  \vas  a  very  long  and  active  campaign,  last 
ing  for  one  hundred  days.  During  a  portion  of  the  time 
there  was  almost  a  continuous  downpour  of  rain,  making  the 
roads  almost  impassable,  consequently  all  the  movements  of 
the  army  were  slow  and  difficult. 

Magnificent  forts  and  long  lines  of  rifle-pits  had  been 
built  by  Johnson's  army  across  our  line  of  march  to  check 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  187 

the  invading  army.  These  works  had  cost  weeks  of  hard 
labor,  but  were  all  wrested  from  the  prudent  and  sagacious 
Confederate  commander,  General  Joseph  E.  Johnson.  These 
were  the  fruits  of  months  of  hard,  patient  service  and  were 
obtained  at  a  cost  to  us  of  hundreds  of  brave  men.  When 
Sherman  found  the  works  too  formidable  to  be  taken  by  as 
sault,  he  resorted  to  his  well-known  "flanking  business," 
which  usually  produced  the  desired  result. 

The  following  report  will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the 
cost  of  war  and  what  we  were  doing  all  this  time.  General 
J.  M.  Brannan,  chief  of  artillery,  Army  of  the  Cumberland, 
reported  the  following  expenditure  of  ammunition  from 
May  3  to  September  3 :  Eighty-six  thousand,  six  hundred 
and  eleven  rounds  of  artillery  ammunition,  and  eleven  mil 
lion,  eight  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand,  two  hundred  and 
ninety-nine  rounds  of  small-arms  ammunition,  used  by  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland  alone. 

The  official  report  of  General  W.  L.  Elliott,  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  cavalry,  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  during 
the  Atlanta  campaign  for  the  same  period,  shows  a  loss  in 
McCook's  division  of  eleven  hundred  and  forty-eight  officers 
and  enlisted  men,  killed,  wounded  and  missing. 


188  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

ORDERED  TO  NASHVILLE — WHEELER^S  RAID— SHARP  FIGHTING 
— COLONEL  BROWNLOW  WOUNDED  —  WHEELER  DRIVEN 
ACROSS  THE  TENNESSEE — FORREST  RETURNS  BUT  MEETS 
THE  SAME  FATE — THE  DARING  RAIDER  FORCED  TO  FIGHT — 
FIGHTING  BUSHWHACKERS — LIFE  ALONG  THE  TENNES 
SEE. 

In  the  recent  raid  south  of  Atlanta,  the  men  composing 
McCook's  division  lost  a  great  many  of  their  horses,  and  as  it 
was  important  that  this  splendid  division  should  be  fitted  up 
and  take  the  field  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  Croxton 
was  ordered  to  turn  over  the  horses  belonging  to  his  brigade 
for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  re-mounts  for  the  remainder 
of  the  division.  This  being  done,  he  was  ordered  to  take  his 
brigade  to  Nashville  for  the  purpose  of  being  re-equipped 
and  remounted. 

The  First  Tennessee  moved  by  rail  from  Marietta  to 
Nashville  by  way  of  Chattanooga.  The  Western  &  Atlantic 
Railroad,  the  one  over  which  the  regiment  was  being  trans 
ported,  runs  through  a  country  unsurpassed  for  scenery. 
Earthworks  and  new-made  graves  were  also  visible  along 
this  historic  road.  Nothing  of  special  interest  occurred  on 
the  way  to  Nashville. 

The  regiment  reached  its  destination  without  accident, 
and  was  immediately  moved  to  Camp  Smith,  about  three 
miles  east  of  Nashville,  on  the  Cumberland  River.  The  First 
Tennessee  pitched  its  tents  at  the  east  end  of  the  camp.  From 
this  point  we  had  a  splendid  view  of  the  Cumberland  River. 
This  camp  was  in  a  beautiful  grove  of  oak  and  poplar  trees, 
whose  wide-spreading  branches  made  inviting  places  for  the 
boys  to  pass  away  their  idle  moments  as  well  as  protect  them 
from  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  189 

During  the  long  summer  campaign,  the  uniforms  of  the 
officers  and  men,  that  were  once  bright  and  new,  were  now 
faded  and  covered  with  dust.  The  faces  of  the  men  were 
bronzed  by  the  blazing  sun,  and  as  the  regiment  marched 
through  the  streets  of  Nashville  the  appearance  of  the  men 
indicated  that  they  had  been  at  the  front. 

The  Christian  Commission,  through  its  agents,  visited 
our  camp  and  furnished  the  men  with  many  things  that  the 
government  did  not  provide  for  its  defenders.  This  grand 
organization  did  a  great  deal  of  good  by  furnishing  the 
soldiers  with  many  little  useful  articles,  such  as  paper  and 
envelopes,  needles,  buttons  and  thread.  In  addition  to  these 
articles,  they  furnished  the  soldiers  with  Bibles,  Testaments 
and  hymn-books. 

The  duty  imposed  upon  the  regiment  was  very  light,  in 
fact,  it  was  a  "picnic"  to  us,  and  we  began  to  put  on  style  and 
''play  soldier"  again. 

Eighteen  long  months  had  passed  by  since  the  regiment 
had  left  Nashville  and  gone  to  the  front,  and  during  that 
time  we  were  scarcely  ever  out  of  sight  of  the  enemy's  camp. 
With  our  bountiful  supply  of  "greenbacks"  we  were  able  to 
purchase  a  great  many  things  that  our  generous  government 
did  not  furnish  us  with,  such  as  watermelons,  peaches,  grapes 
and  apples. 

While  we  were  enjoying  this  delightful  season  of  rest 
and  "high  living,"  General  Joe  Wheeler,  our  old  antagonist, 
was  on  his  way  out  from  a  raid  through  East  Tennessee,  and 
headed  for  Nashville.  This  raid  furnished  the  opportunity 
for  further  display  of  gallantry  on  the  part  of  Colonel 
Brownlow  and  his  "fighting  regiment." 

Croxton's  brigade  drew  horses,  and  everything  about 
our  camp  was  put  in  order  to  meet  this  unexpected  move 
ment  of  Wheeler.  Orders  were  issued  to  the  First  Tennes 
see  to  be  ready  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice,  and  to  an  "old 
soldier"  that  kind  of  an  order  usually  meant  business. 
Wheeler  was  moving  toward  Nashville  with  a  large  force  of 
cavalry,  and  General  L.  H.  Rousseau,  who  was  in  command 


190  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

of  the  District  of  Middle  Tennessee,  with  headquarters  at 
Nashville,  ordered  Croxton  to  move  his  brigade  from  Camp 
Smith  to  Lavergne,  a  station  on  the  Nashville  &  Chatta 
nooga  Railroad,  and  fifteen  miles  southeast  of  Nashville. 

General  Croxton  moved  his  brigade  at  6  p.  m.,  August 
31,  closely  followed  by  Rousseau,  with  a  force  of  infantry. 
It  was  a  beautiful  night,  and  as  we  marched  along  the  turn 
pike  leading  to  Murfreesboro,  myriads  of  twinkling  stars 
peeped  out  from  a  cloudless  sky,  furnishing  sufficient  light 
for  the  marching  columns. 

The  First  Tennessee  under  Colonel  Brownlow  led  the 
column,  and  after  moving  a  short  distance  from  camp,  Com 
pany  C  was  ordered  to  the  front  for  an  advance  guard.  This 
was  not  the  first  time  the  First  Tennessee  had  ever  marched 
along  the  turnpikes  of  Middle  Tennessee  at  night,  neither 
was  it  a  new  experience  to  lead  a  marching  army. 

As  we  were  marching  along  we  could  see  a  very  bright 
light  in  our  front,  and  supposed  that  Wheeler  was  burning 
the  depot  at  Lavergne.  When  we  were  within  a  few  miles  of 
Lavergne,  Company  A  was  sent  forward  to  reinforce  the 
advance  guard.  No  singing  or  loud  talking  was  allowed 
that  night. 

Toward  midnight,  our  advance  struck  Wheeler's  pickets 
about  two  miles  from  Lavergne,  and  after  a  lively  skirmish 
his  pickets  were  driven  in. 

Rousseau  halted  his  command  for  the  night,  deeming  it 
unwise  to  move  any  farther,  as  he  knew  nothing  of  the 
strength  and  location  of  the  enemy.  Colonel  Brownlow  was 
ordered  to  dismount  his  regiment,  send  his  horses  to  the 
rear  and  build  a  rail  barricade  across  the  turnpike  and  hold 
his  position  until  morning.  In  this  midnight  skirmish,  Pri 
vates  W.  A.  Cannon  and  Zack  Peay,  of  Company  C,  were 
wounded,  and  three  horses  shot. 

The  regiments  built  a  temporary  line  of  works  and 
remained  in  line  of  battle  during  the  night,  and  early  the  next 
morning,  September  I,  Colonel  Brownlow  was  ordered  to 
take  the  advance  again.  He  led  forward  his  regiment  toward 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  191 

Lavergne  and  in  a  short  time  engaged  that  portion  of  the 
enemy  which  he  had  fought  during  the  night.  The  most  of 
Wheeler's  troops  were  in  our  front,  and  he  was  making  a 
desperate  attempt  to  hold  us  in  check  until  his  men  could  de 
stroy  the  road. 

The  First  Tennessee  continued  to  drive  back  Wheeler's 
troops  toward  Lavergne,  and  when  near  that  place,  Colonel 
Brownlow  charged  his  advance  and  drove  it  back  rapidly 
upon  his  main  line,  which  was  partly  concealed  by  a  heavy 
cedar  grove,  and  after  a  hand-to-hand  fight,  in  which  the 
saber  was  freely  used,  the  regiment  was  driven  back  by  over 
whelming  numbers  until  the  remainder  of  the  brigade  was 
met.  Two  companies  of  the  Eighth  Iowa  and  Company  C, 
First  Tennessee,  were  detached  and  sent  on  the  gallop  to  the 
railroad  to  drive  away  a  force  that  was  tearing  up  the  track. 

This  little  detachment  drove  in  their  pickets,  charged 
upon  and  routed  the  troops  that  were  engaged  in  the  de 
struction  of  the  track.  The  enemy  had  fired  a  small  bridge, 
but  with  a  few  canteens  of  water  the  fire  was  extinguished 
and  the  bridge  saved.  We  killed  one  man,  captured  five 
and  returned  without  loss  to  our  ranks. 

Not  until  the  most  of  Wheeler's  forces  were  massed 
and  hurled  upon  the  regiment  did  it  yield  an  inch,  and  then 
the  enemy  were  not  allowed  to  press  it  with  impunity. 
Wheeler,  finding  himself  hard  pressed,  left  the  Nashville  & 
Chattanooga  Road  late  in  the  afternoon,  without  doing  much 
damage.  He  turned  almost  due  west  and  struck  the  Nash 
ville  &  Decatur  Road,  at  Franklin.  In  this  short  but  spirited 
engagement,  the  First  Tennessee  sustained  the  following 
loss : 

Killed — Company  D,  Sergeant  Geo.  W.  Witt;  Com 
pany  I,  Private  Samuel  Broyles ;  Company  B,  Sergeant  John 
Hopson,  Corporal  Thos.  L.  Seal  and  Private  Thomas  Cook. 

Missing  in  Action — Company  B,  Claiborne  Gibbs. 

Wounded — Company  I,  Private  Elbert  Smith;  Com 
pany  E,  Private  Newton  F.  Smelser,  severely ;  Company  K, 
Private  E.  S.  Smith;  Company  L,  Privates  Henry  C.  Fisher 


192  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

and  John  Martin;  Company  B,  Lieutenant  Daniel  S.  Fox, 
Privates  James  G.  Trent  and  Roily  Maze.  Corporal  Robert 
Marsh  was  seriously  hurt  by  his  horse  falling  while  making* 
the  charge. 

John  Hopson  was  color  sergeant  of  Company  B,  and 
was  killed  while  carrying  the  guidon  of  his  company. 

Rousseau  pursued  the  retreating  enemy  rapidly  from 
Lavergne,  marching  almost  the  entire  night,  reaching  Frank 
lin  about  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  2nd.  At  this  place 
we  were  joined  by  the  Second  Michigan,  of  our  brigade. 
This  regiment  had  been  doing  guard  duty  for  some  time 
along  the  Nashville  &  Decatur  Railroad. 

Wheeler  had  swung  around  Franklin  and  was  approach 
ing  from  the  south  just  as  Croxton's  brigade  was  entering 
from  the  east.  The  two  columns  met  on  a  high  range  of 
hills  about  one  mile  south  of  town  on  the  turnpike  leading 
from  Franklin  to  Columbia.  Our  battery  took  up  a  position 
on  the  turnpike  and  opened  a  brisk  fire  on  the  enemy,  who 
were  just  a  short  distance  in  our  front.  Wheeler,  seeing  that 
we  had  won  in  the  race  for  position,  now  made  an  attempt  to 
turn  our  right  flank  and  capture  the  battery  that  was  dealing 
out  shells,  grape  and  canister  in  such  great  profusion. 

Colonel  Brownlow  was  ordered  to  move  his  regiment  at 
once  and  occupy  the  hill  to  the  right  of  our  battery  and  to 
hold  it  at  all  hazards.  The  regiment  was  moved  to  the  foot 
of  the  hill  on  the  gallop.  Here  Colonel  Brownlow  dis 
mounted  his  regiment  and,  forming  it  in  line  of  battle,  moved 
rapidly  up  the  steep  and  rocky  hill.  The  day  was  exceed 
ingly  hot,  so  by  the  time  the  summit  was  reached  we  were 
almost  exhausted.  Wheeler  moved  his  troops  forward  with 
equal  promptness,  so  the  contending  forces  met  at  the  crest 
almost  at  the  same  moment. 

The  firing  was  severe  and  began  at  close  range,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  the  hill  was  completely  enveloped  in  smoke. 
Almost  at  the  first  fire,  Colonel  Brownlow,  while  gallantly 
leading  his  men  into  the  very  ranks  •  of  the  enemy,  fell 
severely  wounded,  and  was  borne  from  the  field  amid 


J 


SOUNDING-  THE  CHARGE 


A  CAVALRY  CAMP 


TENNESSEE:  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  193 

a  perfect  tempest  of  bullets.  A  musket-ball  passed  through 
both  of  his  legs,  producing  a  very  painful  wound — a  wound 
that  almost  proved  fatal.  He  was  immediately  carried  to 
the  rear,  where  his  wounds  were  dressed,  but  almost  bled 
to  death  before  the  surgeons  reached  him.  About  the 
same  time,  Lieutenant  I.  B.  Self,  C.  S.,  received  a  wound 
in  the  head,  at  first  supposed  to  be  mortal,  but  by  good 
nursing  he  survived  his  wound  and  is  now  a  prominent 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  minister. 

After  the  fall  of  Colonel  Brownlow,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
C.  M.  Dyer  assumed  command  of  the  regiment,  and  filled  the 
position  to  which  he  was  so  suddenly  and  unexpectedly 
called  with  that  cool  and  conspicuous  bravery  that  had  char 
acterized  him  on  all  occasions.  He  was  a  brave,  true  Chris- 
tion  soldier,  and  the  noble  example  he  set  before  the  brave 
men  he  was  called  at  that  trying  moment  to  command,  was 
worthy  of  emulation. 

The  enemy  made  several  attempts  to  drive  the  First 
Tennessee  from  its  position,  but  the  orders  were,  "Hold 
the  hill,  and  don't  give  it  up  until  ordered  to  do  so."  We 
fought  from  behind  logs,  trees,  rocks  or  anything  else  that 
would  afford  us  protection  from  the  pelting  storm  of  lead. 
The  First  Tennessee  was  not  ashamed  or  the  least  bit  back 
ward  on  an  occasion  like  this  to  seek  the  friendly  protection 
of  a  stump,  or  a  tree,  in  order  that  a  valuable  life  might  be 
saved.  The  regiment  maintained  its  position  until  the  left 
had  been  repulsed  and  driven  back  almost  in  its  rear,  when 
Croxton  ordered  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dyer  to  fall  back. 

The  regiment  fell  back  in  splendid  order,  and  it  is  a 
fact  worthy  of  remark  that  the  enemy  in  its  front  were  so 
severely  punished  that  they  did  not  pursue  as  it  withdrew. 
Croxton  moved  his  brigade  back  a  short  distance  and  took 
up  a  new  position,  which  he  held  until  the  arrival  of  Rous 
seau  and  his  infantry.  Wheeler  remained  in  our  front  until 
late  in  the  afternoon,  when  he  withdrew  and  -moved  south. 

The  First  Tennessee  sustained  the  following  loss : 

Killed   and   Mortally    Wounded — Company   A,   James 


194  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Martin,  mortally  wounded,  died  Nov.  5 ;  Company  D,  Cor 
poral  Robert  B.  Cook. 

Wounded — Colonel  James  P.  Brownlow,  severely ;  Com 
pany  D,  Lieutenant  I.  B.  Self,  C.  S.,  and  John  W.  Legg, 
severely;  Company  E,  William  Fletcher;  Company  M,  C. 
M.  Fellers. 

In  this  engagement  the  First  Tennessee  was  confronted 
by  the  Fourth  Tennessee,  Eighth  and  Eleventh  Texas  Cav 
alry,  of  Kelley's  division.  Among  those  who  fell  on  the  Con 
federate  side  and  in  front  of  the  First  Tennessee,  was  Brig 
adier-General  J.  H.  Kelley,  one  of  Wheeler's  brave  and 
trusted  division  commanders. 

While  we  were  engaged  at  Franklin,  Atlanta,  one  of  the 
most  important  cities  of  the  Confederacy,  fell  into  our  hands, 
together  with  its  extensive  mills  and  foundries.  The  First 
Tennessee  had  contributed  three  months  of  hard  and  dis 
tinguished  service  toward  its  capture,  but  was  ordered  away 
before  it  fell. 

There  was  considerable  sharp  skirmishing  during  the 
afternoon,  in  fact,  it  continued  until  darkness  enveloped  both 
armies  and  shut  out  from  view  the  contending  forces.  Rous 
seau's  troops  camped  on  the  field  during  the  night,  and  early 
the  next  morning  he  pushed  his  column  toward  Columbia,  in 
search  of  Wheeler,  who  had  retreated  south^  during  the  night, 
under  cover  of  darkness. 

General  Rousseau,  not  being  detained  by  engagements 
or  burnt  bridges  during  the  day,  marched  his  army  in  the 
vicinity  of  Columbia  and  bivouacked  for  the  night.  At  this 
place.  Wheeler  scattered  his  troops  for  the  purpose  of  mis 
leading  the  pursuing  column,  consequently  the  greater  part 
of  the  4th  was  spent  in  trying  to  ascertain  the  route  his 
main  force  had  taken.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  Croxton  was 
ordered  to  advance  with  his  brigade  toward  Pulaski,  halting 
for  the  night  about  six  miles  from  Columbia. 

The  pursuit  was  resumed  early  on  the  morning  of  the 
5th,  and  when  near  a  small  hamlet  called  Campbellsville, 
Croxton  overtook  a  portion  of  Wheeler's  force,  and  a  livelv 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  195 

engagement  ensued.  Wheeler  had  taken  up  a  strong  position 
in  an  extensive  beech  forest,  which  afforded  great  protection 
to  his  men.  The  artillery  was  run  up  and  opened  a  brisk  fire 
on  the  enemy.  At  the  same  time,  Croxton  moved  his  bri 
gade  forward  in  line  of  battle  and  soon  the  whole  line  was 
warmly  engaged. 

Rousseau's  troops  were  too  far  in  the  rear  to  be  of  any 
benefit  to  Croxton,  consequently  his  small  brigade  was  alone, 
contending  against  the  most  of  Wheeler's  troops.  Finding 
it  impossible  to  dislodge  Wheeler  from  the  position  he  had 
taken,  Croxton  ordered  the  First  Tennessee,  under  Lieu- 
teriant-Colonel  Dyer,  to  charge  him  with  the  saber.  In  the 
execution  of  this  order  the  First  Tennessee  was  compelled  to 
charge  across  an  open  field  under  a  brisk  fire. 

But  the  regiment  never  failed  to  execute  an  order,  and 
on  this  occasion,  with  its  accustomed  gallantry,  charged 
upon  the  enemy  with  the  saber,  cutting  and  slashing  right 
and  left,  breaking  his  line  and  driving  him  from  the  woods. 
The  remainder  of  Croxton's  brigade  advanced,  and  soon 
Wheeler's  troops  were  routed  and  sent  flying  southward. 

The  casualties  in  the  First  Tennessee  were  as  follows : 

Killed  and  Mortally  Wounded — Company  F,  John  H. 
Shaver ;  Company  C,  Sergeant  J.  L.  Geasland,  mortally 
wounded,  died  in  hospital  at  Nashville,  Sept.  30;  Company 
K,  Harrison  Key ;  Company  L,  John  W.  Pettitt  and  W.  H. 
Osmit. 

Wounded — Company  A,  James  Harris;  Company  F, 
Geo.  W.  Black,  Peter  Henry  and  Nathaniel  Spencer;  Com 
pany  I,  A.  J.  Kelly,  severely  wounded  and  captured;  Com 
pany  C,  James  R.  Chambless ;  Company  M,  Harvey  Bales. 

In  this  charge,  Sergeant  J.  B.  Clapp,  of  Company  C, 
had  the  misfortune  of  having  his  horse  shot  from  under  him. 
He  was  carrying  the  regimental  flag,  and  in  falling  his  right 
leg  was  caught  under  his  horse.  The  plucky  sergeant  man 
aged  to  extricate  himself  with  the  loss  of  one  boot  and  a 
few  bruises,  but  saved  the  colors. 

This  was  the  last  stand  made  by  Wheeler.    Finding  him- 


196  HISTORY  0$  FIRST  REGIMENT 

self  closely  pursued,  he  withdrew  and  moved  rapidly  through 
Pulaski,  and  after  an  exciting  chase  he  succeeded  in  cross 
ing  the  Tennessee  River  near  Rodgersville,  Alabama.  The 
loss  inflicted  to  our  railroads  was  very  light,  and  so  closely 
was  Wheeler  pursued  that  not  a  single  place  of  any  im 
portance  was  captured,  and  on  the  whole  his  raid  was  not 
a  very  great  success. 

After  Wheeler  had  been  driven  across  Tennessee  River, 
General  Croxton's  brigade  was  ordered  to  Franklin,  where 
a  camp  was  laid  out.  This  camp  was  southeast  of  town, 
near  Harpeth  River,  and  in  a  beautiful  grove  of  oaks  and 
elms.  This  was  one  of  the  prettiest  camps  that  the  regiment 
had  ever  laid  out.  The  tents  were  put  up  in  parallel  rows, 
with  wide  streets  between  each  company.  Pretty  arbors 
were  put  up  in  front  to  break  the  force  of  the  sun. 

We  were  not  permitted  to  enjoy  this  beautiful  camp 
very  long.  It  is  said  that  Hood  was  very  much  disappointed 
at  the  light  damage  inflicted  upon  the  railroads  by  Wheeler, 
and  determined  to  send  another  raiding  party  to  more  fully 
destroy  the  roads  that  were  supplying  Sherman's  army.  For 
rest  at  once  set  about  organizing  a  force  of  at  least  ten 
thousand  men  for  this  purpose.  He  crossed  the  Tennessee 
River  at  Waterloo,  Alabama,  September  20,  and  moved  upon 
the  Nashville  &  Decatur  Road,  striking  it  first  at  Athens. 

Here,  after  considerable  skirmishing  and  maneuvering, 
Forrest  succeeded  in  capturing  the  place,  with  the  garrison, 
a  portion  of  it  being  a  small  detachment  of  the  Third  Ten 
nessee  Cavalry.  The  bold  raider  pushed  north  and  on  the 
25th  captured  the  garrison  and  burned  the  long  trestle  at 
Sulphur  Branch.  At  this  place,  the  remainder  of  the  Third 
Tennessee  Cavalry  was  surrounded  and  captured,  after  a 
brave  defense  of  this  important  place.  Forrest,  elated  with 
his  success  thus  far,  now  moved  on  toward  Pulaski,  destroy 
ing  some  small  bridges  and  several  miles  of  track. 

All  this  time  Rousseau  was  collecting  and  concentrat 
ing  his  scattered  forces  at  Pulaski  to  head  off  Forrest  and 
stop  his  march  north.  General  Croxton's  brigade  was 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  197 

pushed  forward  from  Franklin  and  by  the  time  Forrest 
reached  Pulaski  he  found  Rousseau  there  with  a  force, 
awaiting  his  coming,  so  he  turned  to  the  right  to  avoid  an 
engagement,  but  was  met  on  the  east  side  of  town  and  com 
pelled  to  fight. 

There  was  some  sharp  fighting  during  the  27th  around 
Pulaski,  and  at  night  Forrest  drew  off.  The  loss  in  the  regi 
ment  was : 

Killed — Company  L,  C.  G.  Montgomery. 

Wounded — Company  L,  Eli  Cleveland. 

Forrest  was  very  much  astonished  and  perplexed  to  find 
such  a  large  force  in  his  front,  for  it  was  his  intention  to 
strike  the  Nashville  &  Chattanooga  Railroad  with  his  whole 
force;  but,  having  learned  that  a  much  heavier  force  was 
in  his  front  than  he  wished  to  meet,  changed  his  direction 
and  divided  his  forces.  A  portion  of  Forrest's  command 
succeeded  in  reaching  the  Nashville  &  Chattanooga  Road 
near  Tullahoma,  where  the  track  for  a  short  distance  was 
destroyed  and  the  wires  cut. 

General  Forrest,  with  the  remainder  of  his  command, 
moved  to  our  rear  in  the  direction  of  Columbia,  but  we  were 
pushing  him  so  close  that  he  made  no  attack.  He  still  moved 
north  and  at  Spring  Hill  he  destroyed  the  track  by  turning 
it  down  an  embankment.  Forrest  was  unable  to  move  any 
further  north,  as  there  were  four  columns  closing  in  upon 
him. 

The  daring  raider  now  turned  southwest  and  passed 
through  Lawrenceburg.  On  the  6th  day  of  October,  we 
overtook  his  rear  guard  at  Cypress  Creek,  Alabama,  and 
after  a  brisk  skirmish  he  fled  and  made  his  escape  by  cross 
ing  the  Tennessee  River  at  Bainbridge.  This  was  the  second 
time  inside  of  a  month  that  we  had  assisted  in  driving  the 
enemy  out  of  our  State  and  across  the  beautiful  Tennessee. 
In  this  skirmish,  L.  C.  H.  Long,  Company  A,  was  wounded 
and  captured. 

The  chief  object  of  these  raids  was  for  the  purpose  of 
destroying  the  railroads  and  burning  bridges,  but  the  damage 


198  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

was  so  slight  that  it  only  took  a  short  time  to  place  the  road 
again  in  running  order.  So,  after  long  and  weary  marches 
and  hard  fighting,  the  State  was  once  more  rid  of  the 
raiders,  and  all  efforts  to  baffle  Sherman  in  his  preparations 
for  his  grand  march  to  the  sea  were  at  an  end. 

On  the  loth,  the  regiment  and  brigade  took  up  the  line 
of  march  for  Pulaski,  by  way  of  Florence  and  Lexington. 
We  remained  only  a  few  days,  however,  at  Pulaski.  From 
this  place,  Croxton  moved  his  brigade  to  the  Tennessee 
River,  and  during  the  remainder  of  the  month  it  was  en 
gaged  in  guarding  the  ferries  from  Muscle  Shoals  to  Flor 
ence.  In  addition  to  this  duty,  we  maintained  a  courier  line 
between  our  camp  and  Pulaski. 

The  First  Tennessee  camped  for  a  short  time  at  Center 
Star  and  Blue  Water  Creek.  The  citizens  in  this  part  of 
Alabama  were  very  hostile  toward  the  Union  soldiers,  and 
large  numbers  armed  themselves  and  turned  out  to  be  regu 
lar  "bushwhackers."  They  would  hide  in  some  secluded 
spot  and  when  the  couriers  came  riding  by  these  midnight 
murderers  would  fire  upon  them. 

During  the  remainder  of  October  the  regiment  lost  in 
killed  and  wounded  as  follows : 

Killed— Company  L,  W.  G.  B.  Williams. 

Wounded — Company  A,  Nathaniel  Robinson;  Com 
pany  K,  Cornelius  Smith;  Company  L,  Charles  V.  Orton, 
severely. 

Shortly  after  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  Jefferson  Davis,  the 
Southern  president,  left  Richmond  and  came  south  to  confer 
\vith  his  generals  in  regard  to  the  next  campaign,  and  also 
to  arouse  his  soldiers  to  greater  activity,  and,  if  possible, 
remove  that  despondent  feeling  that  Hood's  army  had  fallen 
into  since  the  removal  of  Johnson.  At  this  meeting,  Hood 
outlined  his  proposed  plan,  which  was  to  throw  his  whole 
force  upon  Sherman's  long  line  of  communication  and  de 
stroy  it,  thereby  forcing  him  to  abandon  his  "march  to  the 
sea,"  and  again  transfer  the  seat  of  war  to  Tennessee. 

The  plan  was  approved,  and  as  Hood  seemed  to  be  full 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  199 

of  pluck  and  enterprise,  all  eyes  were  centered  upon  him. 
He  at  once  set  about  ptrtting  his  army  "in  trim"  for — as  it 
proved  to  be — his  last  campaign.  It  was  some  little  time 
after  Hood  beg'an  his  march  north  before  Sherman  was  able 
to  determine  at  what  point  he  would  strike  his  line  first. 

When  General  Sherman  became  thoroughly  convinced 
that  Hood  was  going  toward  Tennessee,  he  sent  General 
George  H.  Thomas,  that  grand  old  hero,  the  "Rock  of 
Chickamauga,"  who  never  lost  a  battle,  back  to  Nashville 
to  organize  a  force  sufficiently  large  to  crush  Hood  at  the 
proper  time.  Two  divisions  of  the  Sixteenth  Corps,  under 
General  A.  J.  Smith,  then  in  Missouri ;  the  Fourth  Corps, 
under  General  D.  S.  Stanley ;  the  Twenty-third  Corps,  under 
General  J.  M.  Schofield,  and  the  two  remaining  brigades  of 
McCook's  division  of  cavalry  of  Sherman's  army,  were 
sent  to  Thomas. 

While  Hood  was  busy  getting  ready  for  his  northern 
campaign,  Sherman  was  also  making  preparations  for  his 
grand  march  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea,  and  when  he  became 
fully  satisfied  that  Hood  was  on  his  way  into  Tennessee,  he 
cut  the  wires,  burned  the  bridges  in  his  rear,  and  on  the 
1 5th  day  of  November  he  left  Atlanta,  and  of  him  President 
Lincoln  said :  "We  know  where  he  went  in,  but  no  one  can 
tell  where  he  will  come  out." 

Hood  began  his  march  the  first  of  October.  He  entered 
the  campaign  full  of  hope,  and  with  his  large  army  he  ex 
pected  to  move  in  the  rear  of  Sherman's  army  and  destroy 
his  long  line  of  communication,  and  as  far  as  possible  feed 
his  army  on  captured  supplies.  Hood  also  entertained  the 
hope  that  this  move  north  would  arouse  the  "old-time"  war 
spirit  in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  and  that  thousands  would 
flock  to  his  standard,  and  with  this  additional  force  he  could 
sweep  north  to  the  Ohio  River,  if  he  desired  to  do  so. 

Sherman  followed  Hood  as  far  north  as  Dalton,  but  did 
not  propose  to  give  up  his  hold  on  Georgia  or  be  led  off  upon 
a  "wild  goose  chase"  if  he  could  prevent  it.  Toward  the 
last  of  October,  Hood  moved  his  army  westward  to  Summer- 


200  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

ville  and  Decatur.  At  the  latter  place  he  expected  to  cross 
the  Tennessee  River,  but  finding  the  place  too  strongly 
fortified,  he  now  turned  west  and  moved  along  the  south  side 
of  the  river  to  Tuscumbia,  Ala. 

Croxton's  small  brigade  was  the  only  troops  on  this 
wing  of  the  Union  army,  and  at  this  time  the  total  effective 
strength  was  about  one  thousand  men,  well  officered,  well 
equipped,  and  good  "fighters."  This  veteran  brigade  was 
entrusted  with  the  arduous  duty  of  guarding  the  ferries  and 
crossings  for  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  along  the  Tennessee 
River;  and  many  weary  days  and  nights  were  spent  by  the 
men  of  the  First  Tennessee  in  watching  the  movements  of 
Hood's  troops  on  the  opposite  shore,  as  they  went  "nosing" 
about,  trying  to  find  a  good  and  suitable  place  to  cross. 

By  great  activity  and  watchfulness  on  the  part  of  this 
brigade,  every  movement  of  the  enemy  and  every  indication 
of  his  intention  were  promptly  reported  to  General  Thomas, 
the  nearest  telegraph  station  being  at  Pulaski.  The  mosqui 
toes  gave  us  almost  as  much  trouble  as  Hood's  men.  They 
were  very  friendly  and  excellent  foragers,  but  invariably 
wanted  their  "meals"  free,  and  if  they  ever  caught  a  fellow 
napping  they  went  for  him  with  all  their  might. 

The  muscadine,  a  fruit  resembling  the  grape,  was  found 
in  great  abundance  along  the  Tennessee  River,  and  the  First 
Tennessee  enjoyed  many  great  feasts  from  this  delicious 
fruit,  which  grew  spontaneously  in  the  rich  bottoms  border 
ing  on  the  river.  Though  we  were  in  the  State  of  Alabama, 
yet  we  were  guarding  the  crossings  of  our  own  beautiful 
Tennessee,  whose  waters  were  gathered  from  the  hills  and 
valleys  of  our  own  East  Tennessee.  Near  Bridgeport,  the 
Tennessee  River  leaves  the  State  and,  turning  almost  due 
south,  enters  Alabama  and  runs  "away  down"  into  the  State, 
then,  turning  northwest,  again  re-enters  Tennessee  a  short 
distance  below  Waterloo,  Alabama. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  201 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HOOD  CROSSES  THE  TENNESSEE — RACE  WITH  SCHOFIELD — 
HATCH  FLOGS  FORREST  AT  CAMPBELLSVILLE — WILSON  AT 
DUCK  RIVER — NIGHT  MARCH  TO  FRANKLIN — PREPARA 
TIONS  FOR  BATTLE. 

On  the  2Qth  of  October,  the  advance  of  Hood's  army 
drove  back  Croxton's  cavalry  at  Florence,  Alabama,  and  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  attempted  to  lay  their  pon 
toon  bridge,  but  as  the  fire  of  the  Union  cavalry  was  so  hot, 
the  further  attempt  was  delayed  until  darkness  set  in.  Dur 
ing  the  night  the  bridge  was  completed  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  3Oth,  Johnson's  division  of  Lee's  corps  crossed  over 
and  threw  up  a  line  of  works. 

Croxton,  finding  that  the  whole  of  Hood's  army  was  in 
his  front  at  Florence,  fell  back  behind  Shoal  Creek,  picketing 
heavily  on  the  road  leading  to  Florence.  Early  on  the  morn 
ing  of  November  5,  the  First  Tennessee,  under  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Dyer,  was  sent  out  to  reconnoiter  the  enemy's  posi 
tion  on  the  road  leading  to  Florence,  and  when  about  three 
miles  from  camp,  the  advance  guard  of  the  regiment  was  met 
and  driven  back  by  a  column  of  rebel  infantry.  We  learned 
afterwards  that  this  was  Johnson's  division  of  Lee's  corps. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Dyer  retired  slowly,  disputing  every  foot 
of  ground,  and  on  reaching  Shoal  Creek  the  regiment  moved 
to  the  north  side  and  was  formed  in  line  of  battle  to  the  left 
of  the  road. 

General  Croxton  heard  the  sharp  firing  of  the  First 
Tennessee,  and  on  reaching  Shoal  Creek  we  found  the  bri 
gade  and  two  1 2-pound  Howitzers  in  line  of  battle  along 
the  north  bank  of  the  creek.  The  name  of  the  battery  I  can 
not  now  recall,  but  think  it  was  a  United  States  batterv. 


202  HISTORY  OF  1'IRST  REGIMENT 

About  9:30  a.  m.,  the  enemy  appeared  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  creek,  when  our  guns  opened  a  rapid  fire  on 
them.  The  Confederates  responded  with  six  guns,  and  soon 
the  air  was  full  of  flying  missiles.  The  enemy's  skirmishers 
repeatedly  advanced  to  the  bank  of  the  creek,  but  our  fire 
was  so  rapid  and  destructive  that  they  were  unable  to  cross, 
and  were  compelled  to  fall  back  and  seek  shelter  in  the 
woods.  Hood's  men,  already  feeling  good  over  their  success 
in  crossing  the  Tennessee  without  serious  opposition,  now 
moved  up  in  force,  and  attempted  to  cross,  but  our  fire  was 
so  hot  they  fell  back.  But  the  artillery  on  both  sides  kept  up 
the  fire. 

Hood's  men  were  so  severely  punished  during  the  fore 
noon  that  they  made  no  further  attempt  to  force  a  crossing 
in  our  front.  The  artillery  on  both  sides  kept  up  a  rapid 
and  vigorous  fire  from  commanding  positions,  while  shot  and 
shell  went  flying  thick  and  fast  across  the  stream,  the  Union 
guns  maintaining  the  unequal  contest  with  great  courage. 

Johnson,  believing  that  there  was  a  large  force  in  his 
front,  and  being  unable  to  effect  a  crossing  on  the  main  road, 
sent  two  brigades  to  a  ford  on  our  left,  near  the  mouth  of 
Shoal  Creek,  where  they  crossed.  This  move  forced  Crox- 
ton  to  abandon  his  position  and  fall  back.  The  enemy  had 
almost  gained  our  rear  before  he  was  discovered,  conse 
quently  it  was  a  hair-breadth  escape  all  around. 

When  Croxton  found  that  his  left  flank  was  turned,  he 
ordered  his  brigade  to  fall  back  to  the  road.  The  First  Ten 
nessee  was  on  the  left  of  the  brigade  and  in  line  along  the 
north  bank  of  the  creek,  with  a  thick  growth  of  scrubby 
timber  in  its  rear.  The  Fourth  Kentucky  was  to  our  right, 
and  was  fighting  dismounted.  The  Second  Michigan  and 
Eighth  Iowa  were  still  further  to  our  right.  When  we  began 
to  fall  back,  the  enemy  immediately  plunged  into  the  stream 
and  followed  close  upon  our  heels. 

On  reaching  the  road,  Croxton  was  compelled  to  halt 
the  First  Tennessee  and  Fourth  Kentucky  for  the  purpose 
of  checking  the  enemy  long  enough  to  let  the  other  two  regi- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  203 

ments  and  battery  get  to  the  road.  The  enemy  soon  emerged 
from  the  woods  we  had  just  left  and  moved  on  the  quick 
step  toward  our  thin  line  of  battle.  As  they  approached, 
the  First  Tennessee  and  Fourth  Kentucky  gave  them  a  vol 
ley,  which  for  the  moment  staggered  their  line,  and  during 
this  temporary  check  Croxton  ordered  his  brigade  to  retire. 

Just  as  we  reached  the  road  our  battery  went  dashing 
by,  under  "whip  and  spur,"  the  enemy  not  being  over  fifty 
yards  away,  but  could  do  but  little  with  empty  muskets  in 
their  hands. 

Croxton  fell  back  a  short  distance  and  took  up  a  new 
position  near  Sugar  Creek.  In  this  engagement  the  First 
Tennessee  sustained  a  very  small  loss,  a  loss  that  the  writer 
is  unable  to  account  for,  as  the  regiment  was  in  the  engage 
ment  from  beginning  to  end.  It  was  one  of  the  many  lucky 
escapes  for  the  regiment.  Company  B  lost  one  man,  Ser 
geant  Robert  A.  Trent.  He  was  reported  as  "missing  in 
action,"  and  supposed  to  have  been  killed.  Robert  Adair, 
Company  C,  was  severely  wounded.  This  brave  and  gallant 
soldier  received  his  fourth  wound  in  this  engagement,  besides 
being  hit  with  a  spent  ball  on  the  retreat  from  Cumberland 
Gap,  in  1862.  Just  as  the  order  was  given  to  fall  back,  he 
was  struck  in  the  left  breast  with  a  musket  ball,  which  passed 
through  his  body,  producing,  as  we  thought,  a  mortal  wound. 
Almost  at  the  same  moment  his  horse  was  killed,  and  both 
went  down  together.  The  Confederates  were  advancing, 
and  were  not  fifty  yards  away,  when  Sergeant  James  B. 
Clapp  and  the  writer  dismounted,  picked  up  their  wounded 
comrade,  who  seemed  more  dead  than  alive,  and  placed  him 
on  the  horse  behind  his  brother.  We  then  hurriedly  mounted 
our  horses  and  all  escaped  without  further  injury,  amid  a 
shower  of  lead.  But,  strange  to  say,  this  iron  soldier  sur 
vived  his  wound  and  is  at  this  date  an  honored  citizen  of 
Knox  county,  but  much  shattered  in  health. 

During  the  night  the  enemy  recrossed  the  stream,  and 
Croxton's  pickets  re-occupied  the  line  at  Shoal  Creek. 

During  our  stay  at  this  place  the  Presidential  election 


204  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

of  1864  took  place  amid  these  stirring  events,  and  the  boys 
in  blue  were  given  an  opportunity  of  expressing  their  choice 
between  the  opposing  candidates.  The  Republicans  had  re- 
nominated  Abraham  Lincoln  for  President  and  Andrew 
Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  for  Vice-President,  while  the  Demo 
crats  selected  as  their  candidate  for  President,  General  Geo. 
B.  McClellan,  and  for  Vice-President,  Geo.  H.  Pendleton. 
After  the  votes  had  been  counted  and  the  result  announced, 
there  was  great  rejoicing  in  camp  over  the  result,  as  Abra 
ham  Lincoln  had  received  almost  the  unanimous  vote  of 
Croxton's  brigade. 

Hood  was  compelled  to  wait  until  sufficient  supplies 
could  be  collected  to  warrant  the  opening  of  an  active  cam 
paign.  This  delay  was  of  the  greatest  importance  to  Thomas, 
as  it  gave  him  more  time  to  collect  his  scattered  forces,  with 
which  he  was  expected  to  drive  Hood  from  Tennessee. 
Hood's  field  returns,  dated  November  16,  1864,  show  an 
aggregate  force  present  of  forty-four  thousand,  eight  hun 
dred  and  thirty-two.  These  returns  do  not  include  Forrest's 
cavalry,  at  least  nine  thousand  strong,  which  at  that  time 
was  absent  on  a  raid  along  the  Tennessee  River,  but  rejoined 
Hood  before  he  started  on  his  campaign. 

Hood  entered  Tennessee  with  three  corps  of  infantry 
and  one  of  cavalry,  commanded  respectively  by  Cheatham, 
Stewart,  Lee  and  Forrest,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  his  army 
numbered  at  least  fifty  thousand  men,  while  Thomas  did  not 
have  exceeding  twenty-seven  thousand  men,  of  all  arms, 
confronting  Hood,  until  Nashville  was  reached. 

General  Edward  Hatch,  with  the  Fifth  Division  of  Cav 
alry,  was  sent  to  Sugar  Creek  to  reinforce  Croxton's  brigade, 
and,  being  the  ranking  officer  present,  assumed  command  of 
all  the  cavalry  at  that  place. 

There  was  sharp  picket  fighting  in  our  front.  Our 
scouts  having  learned  that  Hood's  entire  army  was  now  on 
the  north  side,  all  the  roads  leading  toward  the  enemy's  camp 
were  blockaded  with  fallen  timber,  so  as  to  delay  him  as 
much  as  possible.  Rafts  were  sent  down  the  river  to  break 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  205 

his  bridges,  but  we  never  knew  whether  they  were  broken 
or  not. 

On  the  i Qth,  Hatch  moved  the  most  of  his  division  out 
toward  Shoal  Creek,  where  he  met  Forrest,  with  a  large 
force,  moving  along  the  west  side.  Coon's  brigade,  of 
Hatch's  division,;  crossed  and  attacked  Forrest,  but  was 
forced  to  re-cross  the  stream  after  some  sharp  righting.  This 
move  developed  the  fact  that  Hood's  entire  army  was  moving 
north. 

Hood  believed  that  the  most  of  Sherman's  army  was 
with  him  in  Georgia,  and  all  that  he  would  have  to  contend 
with  would  be  hundred-day  men,  convalescent  troops  and 
government  employes.  The  great  race  began  on  the  2Oth, 
and  after  the  little  "set-to"  at  Franklin,  Hood  became  con 
vinced  that  he  must  have  been  mistaken  and  that  if  hundred- 
day  men  and  convalescent  troops  could  do  such  fighting,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  whip  Thomas's  veterans. 

On  the  2Oth,  Hatch  concentrated  his  troops  at  Lexing 
ton,  and  the  next  day  moved  to  Lawrenceburg,  Croxton's 
brigade  acting  as  rear  guard.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the 
23rd,  the  enemy  drove  in  our  pickets,  but  we  held  the  town 
during  the  day,  repulsing  all  charges  made  by  his  dis 
mounted  cavalry.  Late  in  the  afternoon  they  brought  up 
their  artillery  and  shelled  us  vigorously.  General  Thomas 
sent  Schofield  to  Pulaski,  with  orders  to  take  command  of 
all  the  troops  that  were  confronting  Hood.  The  nearest  in 
fantry  force  to  us  was  at  Pulaski,  but  as  Hood  was  pur 
suing  us  on  a  road  almost  parallel  to  the  one  from  Pulaski 
to  Columbia,  the  place  was  evacuated  and  the  troops  ordered 
to  Columbia. 

Hood,  knowing  the  country  well,  did  not  confine  his 
marching  columns  to  one  road.  Lawrenceburg  is  sixteen 
miles  west  of  Pulaski  and  thirty-three  from  Columbia,  and 
as  the  greater  part  of  Hood's  army  seemed  to  be  advancing 
on  the  same  road  over  which  Hatch  was  moving,  it  was 
important  that  his  army  be  delayed  as  much  as  possible,  to 
allow  Schofield's  troops  and  wagon-train  to  reach  Columbia 
first. 


206  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

The  weather,  which  up  to  this  time  had  been  warm  and 
pleasant,  now  changed,  and  rain,  sleet  and  snow  fell,  making 
our  marches  and  bivouacs  unpleasant.  Hood  was  a  "hard 
pusher"  as  well  as  a  "bold  fighter,"  and  hoped  by  a  rapid 
march  to  get  in  Schofield's  rear  before  his  troops  could 
reach  Duck  River,  and  this  was  only  prevented  by  a  hard 
night's  march.  If  Hood  had  won  in  the  race  for  Columbia, 
the  Union  army  would  have  been  entirely  at  his  mercy,  and 
the  capture  of  Nashville  assured.  Hatch  withdrew  his 
troops  from  Lawrenceburg  and  moved  back  toward  Colum 
bia,  with  Croxton's  brigade  covering  his  rear. 

During  the  day  there  were  several  brisk  encounters  as 
the  enemy  kept  pressing  our  rear  guard,  but  at  no  time  were 
they  able  to  "produce  a  panic."  Thus  the  day  wore  away — 
fighting  and  falling  back.  There  is  one  thing  that  can  be 
truthfully  said  about  Hood.  He  was  the  only  Confederate 
general  who  could  make  his  infantry  keep  up  with  his  cav 
alry  on  the  march.  We  almost  invariably  found  Forrest 
well  supported  by  infantry. 

On  the  25th,  as  Hatch  was  approaching  Campbellsville, 
Forrest  forced  a  battle  on  him,  and  for  his  "impudence"  he 
was  thoroughly  and  soundly  whipped,  and  without  further 
molestation  Hatch  moved  his  troops  to  Columbia,  where  our 
little  army  once  more  faced  about  to  confront  the  foe.  Col 
umbia  is  a  beautiful  place,  surrounded  by  rich  and  fertile 
fields  and  situated  upon  the  south  bank  of  Duck  River,  which 
at  this  place  flows  almost  west,  with  numerous  fords  above 
and  below  town. 

A  heavy  line  of  wrorks  was  thrown  up  in  front  of  Colum 
bia,  with  a  view  of  checking  the  enemy  and  to  hold  the 
place.  It  was  Thomas's  intention  to  meet  Hood  and  offer 
battle  at  this  place,  but  his  force  was  so  small  that  he  aban 
doned  the  idea  and  gave  instructions  to  Schofield  to  delay 
Hood  as  long  as  possible  without  endangering  his  command. 

The  cavalry  was  ordered  to  the  north  side  of  the  river 
and  distributed  above  and  below  Columbia  for  the  purpose 
of  guarding  the  fords  and  watching  Schofield's  flanks.  Crox- 


TENNESSEE:  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  207 

ton's  brigade  and  a  portion  of  Hatch's  division  held  the  fords 
above  Columbia,  the  latter  extending  his  line  as  far  east  as 
the  crossing  of  the  Lewisburg  and  Franklin  turnpike.  When 
Hood  approached  Columbia  and  found  Schofield  in  posses 
sion,  he  deployed  his  troops  and  moved  up  toward  the  Union 
works,  but  made  no  attack. 

At  this  place,  Croxton's  brigade  was  assigned  tempor 
arily  to  the  Sixth  Division  of  Cavalry,  commanded  by  Gen 
eral  R.  W.  Johnson,  and  remained  in  his  division  until  Nash 
ville  was  reached.  In  Johnson's  report  for  the  month  of 
November,  we  find  the  following:  "Brigadier-General 
Croxton,  with  his  fine  brigade  of  the  First  Cavalry  Division, 
was  also  placed  under  my  command.  Of  the  operations  of 
General  Croxton's  brigade  during  the  short  time  he  was 
under  my  command,  I  shall  not  attempt  particularly  to 
speak,  though  I  desire  to  observe  that  upon  all  occasions 
both  General  Croxton  and  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  his 
command  conducted  themselves  in  a  manner  becoming  the 
high  reputation  which  both  he  and  they  deservedly  enjoy." 

On  the  26th,  there  was  heavy  artillery  firing  and  some 
very  sharp  skirmishing  in  front  of  Columbia,  but  no  general 
attack  was  made.  In  the  meantime,  Schofield  sent  part  of 
his  troops  to  the  north  side,  with  orders  to  entrench,  but  as 
this  side  of  the  river  is  much  lower,  this  position  was  com 
pletely  commanded  by  the  hills  on  the  south  bank.  The  2/th 
was  comparatively  quiet  at  Columbia,  and  that  quietness 
there  meant  great  activity  on  some  other  part  of  our  line. 

While  we  were  holding  the  fords  and  crossings  along 
Duck  River,  east  of  Columbia,  General  James  H.  Wilson,  our 
new  chief  of  cavalry,  reached  us.  He  was  relieved  from 
the  command  of  the  Third  Division,  Cavalry  Corps,  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  command  of  Gen 
eral  Sherman's  cavalry.  The  cavalry  was  too  much  scat 
tered  and  entirely  too  busy  to  receive  him  in  the  manner  that 
his  rank  demanded,  but  he  set  a  noble  example  to  his  troops 
by  remaining  at  the  front  and  sharing  the  hardships  and 
dangers  with  his  men. 


208  HISTORY  OF  £lRST  REGIMENT 

All  the  afternoon  of  the  27th  we  could  see  troops 
marching  east  along  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  This 
information  was  immediately  sent  to  Schofield  at  Columbia. 
Hood  left  two  divisions  of  Lee's  corps  and  all  of  his  artil 
lery  in  front  of  Columbia,  and  with  the  remainder  of  his 
army  moved  to  his  right,  with  a  view  of  turning  Schofield's 
position. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th,  Forrest  made  several 
attempts  to  cross  at  different  fords  between  Columbia  and 
the  Lewisburg  turnpike,  but  was  unsuccessful.  Later  in  the 
day  he  massed  his  troops  at  Huey's  Mill,  about  seven  miles 
east  of  Columbia,  drove  back  the  pickets  and  began  crossing. 
General  Wilson  at  once  notified  Schofield  of  the  enemy's 
movement,  and  suggested  the  immediate  evacuation  of 
Columbia,  as  he  believed  that  Hood,  once  across,  could  beat 
him  to  Franklin — and  subsequent  events  proved  that  Scho 
field  had  delayed  the  withdrawal  of  his  troops  one  day  too 
long.  Croxton's  brigade  was  some  distance  below  where 
Forrest  crossed,  and  as  it  was  in  great  danger  of  being  out 
flanked  and  captured,  Wilson  ordered  Croxton  to  fall  back. 

Hood  laid  his  pontoons  at  Davis'  Ford,  five  miles  east 
of  Columbia,  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  28th,  and  early 
the  next  morning  his  army  began  crossing.  Wilson  fell 
back  to  Rally  Hill,  where  he  held  the  enemy  in  check  during 
the  evening,  but  was  unable  to  concentrate  his  scattered 
troops  until  Hurt's  Cross  Roads  was  reached.  From  Rally 
Hill,  a  turnpike  runs  northwest  to  Spring  Hill,  and  along 
this  road  Hood  led  his  army  in  person  the  next  day.  With 
Schofield's  small  force  at  Columbia,  it  looked  like  he  might 
as*  well  try  to  dam  up  Duck  River  with  a  fish  net  as  to  check 
Hood's  army.  The  road  over  which  his  army  was  to  retreat 
was  badly  blockaded  with  wagons,  but  a  greater  obstacle 
than  this  was  in  his  way  just  then.  The  most  of  Hood's 
army  was  across  Duck  River  as  soon  as  Schofield  was,  and 
stood  ready  to  march  toward  Spring  Hill  on  a  shorter  route. 
With  all  these  obstacles  in  the  way,  it  will  be  seen  that 
Schofield's  situation  at  Columbia  was  extremely  perilous, 


/      J'i'  I    \V-  r 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  209 

and  he  was  led  to  believe  himself  that  he  had  delayed  the 
evacuation  of  Columbia  at  least  one  day  too  long.  All  com 
munication  between  Schofiekl  and  Wilson  was  cut  off. 
Croxton's  brigade  reached  the  Lewisburg  turnpike  at  Rally 
Hill  about  dark,  and  was  immediately  formed  in  line  of 
battle  across  the  road  to  check  the  enemy  until  all  the  scat 
tered  troops  could  close  up.  Wilson  held  his  position  at 
Rally  Hill,  on  the  Lewisburg  turnpike,  until  after  dark  on 
the  28th,  and  then  fell  back  and  bivouacked  near  Hurt's 
Cross  Roads. 

During  the  night,  Buford  joined  Forrest,  and  early  the 
next  morning  he  moved  against  Wilson  with  all  of  his  cav 
alry.  But  Wilson  made  a  brave  and  determined  resistance, 
putting  Croxton's  brigade  in  the  rear,  with  orders  to  contest 
every  foot  of  ground.  Wilson  began  to  fall  back  along  the 
Lewisburg  turnpike,  and  just  after  passing  Hurt's  Cross 
Roads,  Forrest  made  a  fierce  attack  on  our  rear  guard. 
Croxton  dismounted  the  First  Tennessee  and  Second  Michi 
gan,  and  ordered  them  to  build  a  line  of  barricades  across 
the  turnpike,  but  before  the  last  rail  and  log  were  laid  on, 
Forrest  drove  in  the  skirmishers  and  charged  upon  our 
works.  As  his  men  approached  our  line,  the  two  regiments 
opened  such  a  rapid  fire  upon  his  troops  that  they  broke  and 
fled  to  the  rear,  leaving  several  dead  and  wounded  in  our 
front.  We  mounted  and  fell  back,  still  pursued  by  Forrest, 
but  after  this  he  was  very  shy  of  barricades.  The  only  cas 
ualties  in  the  First  Tennessee  were :  Private  Harvey  San- 
didge,  of  Company  L,  wounded,  and  B.  Taylor,  of  Company 
G,  missing — supposed  to  be  killed. 

As  Wilson  approached  Mount  Carmel,  his  leading  bri 
gade — Coon's — was  attacked  in  front  by  a  portion  of  For 
rest's  cavalry,  who  had  gained  his  front  by  hard  marching, 
but  was  repulsed  and  driven  off  with  severe  loss.  About  10 
a.  m.,  Croxton's  brigade  reached  Mount  Carmel  and  passed 
inside  our  lines.  At  this  place  the  turnpike  leading  from 
Spring  Hill  to  Murfreesboro  crosses  the  Lewisburg  turn 
pike.  Croxton's  veteran  brigade  had  gallantly  covered  the 


210  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

retreat  to  this  place,  and  during  that  time  there  was  hard 
and  almost  continued  skirmishing,  as  the  enemy  kept  press 
ing  forward  with  great  energy,  and  made  several  attempts 
to  push  around  and  strike  our  column  in  flank. 

Forrest  left  the  most  of  his  troops  at  Mount  Carmel, 
to  hold  Wilson,  and  with  the  remainder  moved  to  the  left 
toward  Spring  Hill,  ten  miles  west  on  the  Franklin  and 
Columbia  turnpike,  where  he  attempted  the  destruction  of 
our  large  wagon-train.  Hood  was  moving  rapidly  along  the 
Rally  Hill  turnpike,  toward  Spring  Hill,  with  Cleburne's 
division  of  Cheatham's  corps  in  advance.  Wilson's  cavalry 
had  been  driven  back  to  Mount  Carmel.  Schofield  was  still 
at  Columbia,  but  when  he  learned  that  Hood,  with  the  most 
of  his  army,  was  moving  toward  his  rear,  he  at  once  ordered 
Stanley,  with  the  Fourth  Corps,  to  Spring  Hill. 

All  the  wagons  had  been  sent  back  to  Spring  Hill,  and 
Stanley  arrived  there  just  in  time  to  save  them,  as  Forrest 
had  moved  with  the  remainder  of  his  cavalry  and  driven 
in  a  small  force  of  cavalry  that  was  holding  Spring  Hill. 
Cheatham  heard  Stanley's  cannon  and  hurried  forward  Cle 
burne's  division,  followed  by  the  remainder  of  his  corps. 
Cleburne  dashed  upon  Stanley's  men  like  a  mad  man,  but 
was  repulsed  with  severe  loss.  There  was  desperate  fighting 
all  the  afternoon,  but  Stanley  held  the  place  and  saved  our 
wagons. 

Toward  night  the  fighting  ceased,  and  Hood's  army  lay 
in  line  of  battle  near  the  turnpike.  The  day  closed  with  the 
Union  army  badly  scattered.  Part  of  the  Twenty-third 
Corps  was  still  at  Columbia,  with  a  portion  of  the  Fourth 
Corps  in  supporting  distance ;  the  remainder  of  the  two  corps 
was  at  Spring  Hill  with  Stanley ;  the  cavalry  under  Wilson 
was  on  Stanley's  left,  near  Mount  Carmel.  All  of  Hood's 
army  was  with  him  at  Spring  Hill  except  his  artillery  and 
the  two  divisions  of  Lee's  corps,  which  were  still  at  Colum 
bia.  Hood  was  no  doubt  puzzled  and  hardly  knew  what 
to  make  of  the  heavy  firing  he  heard  at  Columbia. 

General  Cox,  with  his  division,  left  Columbia  at  dark 
and  by  hard  marching  reached  Spring  Hill  near  midnight. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  211 

As  Cox's  weary  troops  were  marching  along  near  Spring 
Hill,  the  camp-fires  of  Hood's  army  were  dimly  burning 
only  a  short  distance  away.  As  the  Union  troops  were 
marching  by,  Hood  was  notified  of  the  fact,  and  he  sent  one 
division  to  check  the  movement,  but  as  the  night  was  dark 
and  the  commander  not  being  familiar  with  the  ground  over 
which  he  was  to  move,  the  enterprise  failed. 

There  was  some  light  skirmishing  during  the  night, 
but  by  daylight  Schofield's  army  had  passed  the  "danger 
line"  and  was  now  in  front  instead  of  the  rear.  It  was  evi 
dent  that  someone  had  blundered,  and  the  responsibility  must 
be  shifted  upon  some  subordinate.  General  Pat  Cleburne, 
one  of  Hood's  bravest  and  most  trusted  division  com 
manders,  was  severely  criticised,  and  even  Cheatham,  one 
of  hi-s  corps  commanders,  did  not  escape  censure.  Cleburne, 
smarting  under  the  reprimand  of  his  commander,  rushed  into 
the  battle  the  next  day  and  laid  down  his  life  upon  the  bloody 
field  of  Franklin.  Hood  was  present  upon  the  field  during 
the  fighting  around  Spring  Hill,  and  could  see  that  all  of  his 
orders  were  properly  and  faithfully  executed  and  that  per 
haps  no  one  erred  but  himself. 

The  heavy  wagon-train  was  pushed  out  of  Spring  Hill 
during  the  night,  followed  by  Schofield's  troops,  the  last 
leaving  at  daylight  on  the  3Oth.  Wilson's  cavalry  still  held 
the  Lewisburg  turnpike,  and  during  the  night  reached 
Franklin.  The  only  works  at  Franklin  at  this  time  was  Fort 
Grainger,  a  small  fort  built  a  year  before,  on  a  high  elevation 
on  the  north  bank  of  Harpeth  River,  for  the  purpose  of 
protecting  the  railroad  bridge  and  track,  which  runs  almost 
parallel  with  the  river  some  distance  south.  The  guns  of 
this  fort  completely  commanded  the  town  and  the  entire 
battlefield,  and  during  the  engagement  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  3Oth  enfiladed  Stewart's  line  and  did  fearful  execution 
to  his  troops  as  they  moved  forward  to  the  assault. 

It  was  about  noon  when  the  advance  of  Hood's  army 
approached  Franklin.  Hood  halted  his  weary  troops  some 
little  distance  out  for  a  short  rest  and  to  allow  his  columns 
to  close  up.  All  morning  there  was  great  activity  among 


212  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

those  who  were  in  charge  of  our  large  wagon-train.  There 
were  two  bridges  over  which  they  were  crossing,  and  the 
shouts  of  the  teamsters,  the  rattle  and  rumbling  of  the 
wagons,  could  be  heard  some  distance,  and  occasionally  some 
thoughtless  fellow  would  get  excited  and  let  out  a  big  word 
that  was  in  direct  violation  of  the  Third  Commandment. 

As  the  troops  came  up  they  were  assigned  positions  in 
the  line,  Wilson's  cavalry  was  placed  on  the  left  of  the 
Union  line,  with  Croxton's  brigade  on  the  right.  The 
Lewisburg  turnpike,  as  it  approaches  Franklin,  runs  par 
allel  with  the  Franklin  and  Columbia  turnpike  until  it 
reaches  the  Harpeth  River,  then  it  turns  almost  due  west 
and  runs  almost  parallel  with  the  river  to  where  it  crosses 
the  Nashville  &  Decatur  Railroad.  The  ground  south  of 
Franklin,  between  the  Lewisburg  turnpike  and  the  railroad, 
was  at  the  time  of  the  battle  covered  with  timber,  which 
furnished  some  protection  for  Stewart's  infantry  and  For 
rest's  cavalry.  Hood  evidently  intended  to  move  a  portion 
of  his  army  along  this  route  for  the  purpose  of  turning 
Schofield's  left,  but  in  this  attempt  he  "struck  a  snag." 
Stewart's  corps  and  Forrest's  cavalry,  when  formed  for  the 
attack,  held  this  part  of  Hood's  line,  and  in  the  grand  move 
met  with  stubborn  resistance  from  the  two  advance  regi 
ments  of  Croxton's  brigade. 

Schofield,  with  his  advance,  reached  Franklin  about 
daylight,  and  by  noon  his  entire  command  had  reached  the 
town.  Schofield  selected  a  position  on  a  slight  elevation  a 
short  distance  in  front  of  Franklin,  and  early  in  the  morn 
ing  picks  and  shovels  were  distributed  and  his  weary  troops 
began  throwing  up  a  single  line  of  works,  which  com 
pletely  encircled  the  town  in  front,  with  each  end  extending 
to  the  river.  The  Harpeth  River  at  this  place  makes  a  big 
bend  northward,  while  the  Union  line  curved  outward,  and 
in  this  bend  the  little  town  of  Franklin,  which  was  about 
to  become  historic,  and  its  people  to  witness  one  of  the 
most  desperate  struggles  of  the  war,  is  located.  Franklin 
is  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  and  was  entirely  within  the 
Union  lines. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  213 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

BATTLE  .OF  FRANKLIN — HOOD  ASSAULTS  THE  UNION  LINES- 
REPULSED  -WITH  GREAT  SLAUGHTER — HIS  LOSS  IN  OF 
FICERS  UNEQUALED  IN  THE  WAR — DESPERATE  FIGHTING 
— GENERAL  STANLEY  WOUNDED — SCHOFIELD  WITHDRAWS 
IN  THE  NIGHT — HE  REACHES  NASHVILLE. 

The  building  of  earthworks  was  no  new  experience  for 
Schofield's  veterans,  and  when  the  picks  and  shovels  were 
passed  along  the  line  the  dirt  "fairly  flew,"  and  soon  a  long- 
line  of  rifle-pits  was  thrown  up,  and  then  the  exhausted 
troops  lay  down  and  "snatched"  a  few  hours  of  sleep. 
Where  the  line  of  works  crossed  the  Franklin  and  Columbia 
turnpike  the  full  width  of  the  roadway  was  left  open  to 
allow  the  wagons  and  artillery  to  pass  through  in  double 
lines,  while  a  few  rods  in  the  rear  a  re-trenched  line  was 
built  across  the  turnpike  to  command  the  opening  and  its 
approach.  An  old  cotton-gin  .near  the  line  of  works  was 
torn  down  and  the  timber  used  for  head-logs. 

This  hastily  constructed  line  of  works  was  held  by  the 
following  troops  from  right  to  left :  Kimball's  division, 
Fourth  Corps ;  Rugers'  and  Reilly's  division,  Twenty-third 
Corps.  Opdycke's  brigade  of  Elliott's  division,  Fourth 
Corps,  having  covered  the  retreat  from  Spring  Hill  the 
previous  night,  was  halted  just  in  the  rear  of  the  Union 
works  on  the  Franklin  and  Columbia  turnpike.  This  splen 
did  brigade  was  composed  of  seven  regiments,  and  was 
ordered  to  fight  where  its  gallant  commander  thought  it  was 
needed  the  worst.  Subsequent  events  proved  that  this  bri 
gade  was  halted  at  the  right  place,  and  its  heroic  fighting  no 
doubt  saved  the  day.  Five  batteries  of  artillery  were  also 
placed  in  the  line.  Wood's  division,  Fourth  Corps,  crossed 


214  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

to  the  north  side,  and  continued  the  line  on  Reilly's  left,  and 
to  act  as  a  reserve  to  either  flank.  Then  came  Wilson's  cav 
alry,  with  Croxton's  brigade  of  McCook's  division  next  to 
Wood.  Hatch's  and  Johnson's  divisions  were  still  on  the 
left  of  Croxton. 

But  let  us  now  follow  the  First  Tennessee  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  3Oth.  As  stated  in  the  preceding  chapter,  Crox 
ton's  brigade  was  ordered  to  the  south  side  early  in  the 
morning,  with  orders  to  take  an  advanced  position  near 
Douglass  Church,  on  the  Lewisburg  turnpike.  The  First 
Tennessee  and  Second  Michigan  were  thrown  well  out  to 
the  front  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  During  the 
morning  everything  was  quiet  save  an  occasional  shot  on  the 
skirmish  line.  Toward  noon,  the  advance  of  Forrest's  cav 
alry  moved  up  and  made  an  attack  on  Croxton's  two  ad 
vanced  regiments. 

The  position  of  the  two  regiments  was  well  chosen, 
there  being  a  small  stream  in  front  which  the  enemy  must 
cross  before  reaching  us,  and  on  their  first  advance  they 
met  with  so  hot  a  fire  that  they  were  forced  to  fall  back. 
They  were  quickly  re-formed,  and  advanced  again,  but  not 
a  man  crossed  that  stream.  Once  more  Forrest  re-formed 
his  broken  lines,  and,  with  a  loud  "rebel  yell,"  rode  straight 
for  our  line,  but  the  fire  from  the  revolving  rifles  of  the 
Second  Michigan  and  the  breech-loading  carbines  of  the 
First  Tennessee  was  so  hot  that  Forrest  made  no  further 
attempt  to  force  us  back,  and  all  became  quiet  again.  For 
rest  was  severely  punished,  and  his  loss  must  have  been 
heavy,  for  at  each  volley  we  could  see  men  and  horses  go 
down — some  never  to  rise  again. 

At  i  p.  m.,  Croxton  ordered  his  two  advanced  regi 
ments  to  fall  back  to  the  line  selected  by  him.  This  line  was 
in  the  woods,  and  extended  across  the  Lewisburg  turnpike, 
with  the  left  resting  on  Harpeth  River. 

Major  D.  W.  Sanders,  Adjutant-General  of  French's 
division,  Stewart's  corps,  in  an  article  on  the  battle  of 
Franklin,  says :  " Stewart's  corps  marched  on  a  dirt  road 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  215 

east  of  the  Columbia  pike  to  De  Graffenreid's,  on  the  Lewis- 
burg  pike,  and  completely  turned  the  flank  of  the  enemy's 
force,  which  were  seen  in  line  from  the  Winstead  Hills.  As 
a  consequence,  the  enemy  withdrew  his  troops  from  that 
position.  *  *  *  Stewart  formed  his  line  of  battle  one 
and  a  quarter  miles  southeast  of  Franklin,  with  Buford's  and 
Jackson's  divisions  of  cavalry  on  his  right,  extending  east 
from  the  Lewisburg  pike,  with  Looring,  Walthlall  and 
French's  division  on  the  left,  and  moved  from  DeGraffen- 
reid's  to  the  woodland  south  of  McGavock's  residence. 
When  Stewart's  line  was  formed,  Buford  and  Jackson  drove 
Wilson's  cavalry  beyond  McGavock's  and  east  from  the 
Lewisburg  pike  across  the  Harpeth  River." 

At  2  p.  m.,  Croxton's  brigade  was  attacked  by  both 
infantry  and  cavalry,  and  after  a  brave  resistance  was  forced 
to  retire  to  the  north  side  of  the  river.  Croxton  had  scarcely 
reached  the  north  bank  when  the  pickets  higher  up  the  river 
reported  that  the  enemy's  cavalry  was  crossing  at  different 
places.  Forrest,  with  the  divisions  of  Buford  and  Jackson, 
had  made  one  of  his  bold  moves  in  order  that  he  might  gain 
our  rear  and  destroy  the  large  train,  which  was  already  in 
motion  for  Nashville.  Wilson  immediately  hurled  Crox 
ton's  brigade  and  Hatch's  division  upon  him,  realizing  the 
great  importance  of  keeping  him  on  the  south  side,  and  after 
some  severe  fighting  he  was  driven  across  the  river  with 
heavy  loss. 

This  was  a  bold  and  daring  move,  and  if  he  had  suc 
ceeded  in  gaining  Schofield's  rear,  it  would  have  caused  the 
withdrawal  of  a  portion  of  Schofield's  troops  to  meet  this 
movement  of  Forrest.  But  Wilson  was  equal  to  the  emer 
gency  and,  realizing  the  importance  of  holding  this  part  of 
the  Union  line,  threw  his  whole  force  along  the  north  bank, 
and  during  the  remainder  of  the  day  kept  Forrest  on  the 
south  side  of  Harpeth  River.  During  the  afternoon  there 
was  some  sharp  fighting  along  our  front,  but  at  no  time  was 
Forrest  able  to  effect  a  crossing.  Wilson  felt  confident  that 
he  could  now  hold  his  position  if  Schofield  could  only  take 
care  of  himself  against  the  combined  attack  of  Hood's  troops. 


216  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

While  we  were  busy  on  this  wing  of  our  army,  Hood 
was  forming  his  troops  in  line  of  battle  for  the  desperate 
struggle  that  was  about  to  take  place.  The  battle  was  fought 
in  full  view  of  each  other,  and  at  the  same  time  each  com 
mander,  from  his  position,  could  witness  the  battle  and  the 
movements  of  his  men.  Eighteen  veteran  brigades  of  in 
fantry,  with  cavalry  on  the  flanks,  under  Cheatham  and 
Stewart,  were  formed  in  line  and  stood  ready  to  move  when 
the  order  came. 

It  was  a  beautiful  autumn  afternoon,  not  a  cloud  ob 
scured  the  sun,  which  shone  in  full,  rich  splendor  upon  the 
plain  with  its  gentle  slopes,  over  which  they  must  pass  to 
engage  in  the  deadly  fray,  in  the  desperate  effort  to  carry  a 
single  line  of  works,  by  a  most  reckless  and  daring  assault. 
Possibly  no  battlefield  of  the  war  was  so  free  from  obstruc 
tions  as  the  field  of  Franklin.  It  is  almost  level,  and  on 
that  afternoon  presented  the  most  imposing  martial  display 
of  the  war. 

Behind  the  works  lay  Schofield's  veterans,  who  had 
"been  pounding  away  all  the  summer  on  the  same  men  who 
now  confronted  them,  but  differently  situated.  By  a  blun 
der  of  someone,  two  brigades  of  Wagner's  division — Lane 
and  Conrad — of  the  Fourth  Corps,  were  halted  in  an  ex 
posed  position  a  short  distance  in  front  of  the  Union  line, 
astride  the  Franklin  and  Columbia  turnpike.  So  when 
Hood's  "troops  rushed  forward  on  their  wild  charge,  these 
exposed  troops  delivered  a  volley  and  then  made  for  the 
works  to  avoid  capture  by  Hood's  men,  who  were  close  upon 
their  heels. 

It  was  about  4  p.  m.  when  Hood  ordered  his  troops  to 
the  assault.  They  advanced  with  a  quick  step,  with  trailed 
arms,  the  bright  barrels  flashing  in  the  sunlight,  with 
Cheatham  on  the  left  and  Stewart  on  the  right,  their  right 
and  left  flanks  composing  the  center.  As  Cheatham  ap 
proached  Wagner's  line,  his  men  opened  fire,  which  checked 
him  for  a  few  minutes  only.  As  these  two  brigades  cam? 
swarming  over  the  works,  word  was  quickly  passed  along 


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MAP  OF  THE  BATTLEFIELD  OF  FK  AN  KLIN 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  217 

the  line  for  the  Union  troops  to  withhold  their  fire  until 
they  could  pass  the  works. 

Already  the  black-throated  monsters  from  Fort  Grain 
ger,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  were  raking  Stewart's 
line  with  an  enfilading  fire,  cutting  down  his  troops  like 
grain  before  the  reaper.  As  the  fleeing  troops  came  swarm 
ing  over  the  works  at  the  center,  the  men  in  the  trenches 
became  confused,  and  were  carried  away  by  the  excitement 
and  confusion  for  at  least  three  hundred  yards.  This  was 
the  key  to  the  position,  and  Hood  had  gained  it  without 
serious  fighting,  and  now  held  the  main  approach  to  the 
bridge,  over  which  the  Union  troops  must  retreat  if  de 
feated. 

This  breach  was  on  both  sides  of  the  turnpike,  and 
through  it  Hood's  troops  rushed,  capturing  two  batteries, 
and  with  this  advantage  and  his  superior  force,  it  promised 
an  easy  victory  and  inspired  his  troops  to  greater  activity. 
The  remainder  of  the  Union  line  was  held  firmly,  and  the 
reserves,  under  General  Opdycke,  and  all  the  routed  troops, 
were  thrown  into  the  breach  at  once,  and  then  there  began 
one  of  the  most  desperate  struggles  of  the  war.  Here  the 
fighting  was  hand  to  hand,  and  of  the  most  desperate  char 
acter.  The  fighting  at  this  point  was  for  the  possession  of 
the  works,  and  it  was  maintained  with  great  fury  and  stub 
bornness,  in  which  men  fought  with  clubbed  muskets,  and, 
with  bayonets  baptized  in  blood,  they  drove  Hood's  veterans 
from  the  works  and  saved  the  day. 

The  Union  troops,  in  this  short  but  desperate  struggle, 
recaptured  all  the  guns  and  soon  changed  the  direction  of 
their  death-dealing  missiles.  They  also  captured  ten  battle- 
flags  and  several  hundred  prisoners,  showing  that  Hood 
must  have  thrown  a  large  force  into  this  gap.  General  Pat 
Cleburne,  one  of  the  most  desperate  fighters  in  Hood's 
army,  fell  a  few  rods  in  front  of  the  works,  near  the  center. 
During  the  fearful  struggle  at  the  center,  Hood  was  as 
saulting  our  line  from  end  to  end,  and  the  terrible  discharges 
cf  the  artillery  and  the  rapidity  and  destructiveness  of  the 


218  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

musketry  fire  was  hardly  equaled  in  the  history  of  modern 
warfare.  The  firing  was  so  rapid  that  the  smoke  almost 
obscured  the  field  and  shut  out  from  view  the  assaulting 
columns  as  they  rushed  madly  into  the  very  "jaws  of 
death." 

The  battle  raged  with  unabated  fury  from  4  to  about  8 
p.  m.,  and  during  the  desperate  charges  the  flags  of  the 
enemy  could  be  seen  near  the  works  by  the  bright  flashes  of 
the  artillery  and  small  arms.  The  shouts  of  the  charging 
columns,  mingled  with  the  groans  of  the  wounded  and  dying, 
will  never  be  forgotten  by  those  who  stood  shoulder  to  shoul 
der  in  the  deadly  struggle  on  that  beautiful  November  after 
noon  in  1864.  Hood's  troops  assaulted  the  Union  lines  with 
a  recklessness  never  displayed  before,  and  the  great  loss  of 
officers  and  men  attest  the  great  gallantry  and  sacrifice  on 
the  bloody  field  of  Franklin,  and  after  all  was  lost  they 
sullenly  retired. 

From  Schofield's  headquarters  he  could  witness  the 
fighting  of  his  entire  command,  and  at  one  time,  when  it 
seemed  that  Wilson's  cavalry  was  about  to  be  routed  and 
his  left  turned,  he  sent  part  of  Wood's  division  to  his  sup 
port,  but  before  reaching  him,  Forrest  was  driven  back,  and 
he  was  unable  to  get  in  his  rear  or  turn  his  flank. 

Schofield  makes  the  following  mention  of  this  engage 
ment  in  his  report:  "A  short  time  before  the  infantry  at 
tack  commenced,  the  enemy's  cavalry  forced  a  crossing  about 
three  miles  above  Franklin,  and  drove  back  our  cavalry,  for 
a  time  seriously  threatening  our  trains,  which  were  accu 
mulating  on  the  north  bank  and  moving  toward  Nashville. 
I  sent  General  Wilson  orders,  which  he  had,  however,  an 
ticipated,  to  drive  the  enemy  back  at  all  hazards,  and  moved 
a  brigade  of  General  Wood's  division  to  support  him  if 
necessary.  At  the  moment  of  the  first  decisive  repulse  of 
the  enemy's  infantry,  I  received  the  most  gratifying  intelli 
gence  that  General  Wilson  had  driven  the  rebel  cavalry  back 
across  the  river.  This  rendered  my  immediate  left  and  rear 
secure  for  the  time  being." 


TENNESSEE;  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  219 

Firing  was  kept  up  all  along  the  line  until  about  10 
p.  m.,  when  all  became  quiet,  except  an  occasional  shot  from 
the  skirmish  line.  Schofield  could  not  be  driven,  and  Hood 
would  not  sound  the  retreat,  and  even  after  darkness  had 
settled  over  the  field,  he  ordered  Johnson's  division  of  Lee's 
corps  from  his  reserves  to  assault  the  works  held  by  Ruger's 
and  Kimball's  division.  This  division  made  a  determined 
effort  to  carry  the  works,  but  failed.  Walthall's  division  of 
Stewart's  corps  was  confronted  bv  Casement's  brigade, 
which  was  armed  with  repeating  rifles,  and  here  the  carnage 
was  fearful. 

Hood's  loss  was  frightful,  and  the  next  morning  the 
battlefield  presented  a  horrible  picture.  Officers  and  men 
lay  in  heaps  in  front  of  the  works,  cold  in  death,  while 
wounded  men,  horses  and  broken  guns  attested  the  work  of 
destruction  by  the  unerring  aim  of  the  western  men.  Hood's 
loss  in  officers  was  exceedingly  heavy,  and  from  the  best 
figures  obtainable  his  loss  was  as  follows :  Major-General 
P.  R.  Cleburne,  Brigadier-Generals  O.  F.  Strahl,  John 
Adams,  S.  R.  Gist  and  H.  B.  Granberry.  In  addition  to  the 
five  generals  killed,  who  commanded  divisions  and  brigades, 
he  lost  six  colonels,  two  lieutenant-colonels,  three  majors 
and  two  captains,  who  commanded  regiments.  Line  officers 
and  enlisted  men  killed,  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty.  Of 
ficers  wounded,  one  major-general,  five  brigadier-generals, 
fifteen  colonels,  nine  lieutenant-colonels,  five  majors  and  two 
captains.  Missing,  two  colonels,  three  majors  and  four  cap 
tains.  Captured,  one  brigadier-general.  Enlisted  men 
wounded,  thirty-eight  hundred ;  missing,  seven  hundred  and 
two;  making  an  agregate  loss  in  Hood's  army  of  six  thou 
sand,  two  hundred  and  fifty  two.  Thirty-three  stands  of 
colors  were  also  captured. 

The  loss  in  Schofield's  army  was  as  follows :  Killed, 
one  hundred  and  eighty-nine;  wounded,  one  thousand  and 
thirty-three;  missing,  eleven  hundred  and  four;  making  an 
a£gregate  l°ss  of  two  thousand,  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
six.  The  most  of  the  missing  were  from  the  two  exposed 


220  HLSTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

brigades  of  Wagner's  division,  Fourth  Corps.  Among  the 
wounded  on  the  Union  side  was  Major-General  D.  S.  Stan 
ley,  commanding  the  Fourth  Corps.  He  was  helping  to  rally 
the  men  near  where  the  breach  was  made,  and  during  the 
fierce  fighting  at  this  point  he  received  a  severe  wound  in  the 
neck.  General  Stanley  was  Rosecrans'  chief  of  cavalry  in 
1863,  and  as  such  led  us  through  the  Tullahoma  campaign 
and  on  to  Chickamauga,  but  before  the  battle  he  was  forced 
to  relinquish  the  command  of  account  of  sickness. 

The  battle  of  Franklin,  for  the  numbers  engaged,  was 
the  grandest  and  hardest  fought  battle  of  the  Civil  War. 
The  cannon  of  Fort  Grainger  continued  to  bellow  out  in 
tones  not  to  be  misunderstood,  and  as  the  shells  went  whist 
ling  into  the  darkness  beyond  the  Harpeth,  they  provoked 
no  reply  from  the  enemy. 

The  casualties  in  the  First  Tennessee  were  as  follows : 

Killed  and  Mortally  Wounded — Company  E,  Corporal 
Joseph  A.  Beal,  mortally  wounded  and  left  on  the  field,  date 
of  death  unknown ;  Company  K,  John  T.  Baxter ;  Company 
L,  Jacob  Bacon. 

Wounded — Company  A,  Charles  Dooley  and  Calloway 
Collins,  severely  wounded  and  left  on  the  field ;  Company  D, 
John  W.  Legg ;  Company  L,  Corporal  W.  H.  H.  Bacon. 

Alexander  H.  Stephens,  in  his  history  of  the  United 
States,  makes  the  following  mention  of  the  battle  of  Frank 
lin:  "In  this  battle  Hood  gained  a  signal  victory,  though 
at  considerable  loss." 

When  the  last  of  Schofield's  troops  had  been  withdrawn 
from  the  south  side,  the  bridges  were  fired  by  Wood's  di 
vision,  Fourth  Corps,  and  as  the  flames  arose  from  the  burn 
ing  bridges  the  enemy  opened  a  heavy  fire  from  his  artillery. 
From  our  position  east  of  town  we  could  see  the  light  of 
the  burning  bridges  and  hear  the  roar  of  the  cannon,  as  the 
sound  floated  out  on  the  cold,  frosty  morning  air. 

The  First  Tennessee  moved  from  its  position,  with  the 
remainder  of  Wilson's  cavalry,  at  4:30  a.  m.,  December  i, 
and  covered  the  retreat  of  Schofield  to  Nashville.  Forrest 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  221 

followed  and  skirmished  with  the  rear  guard  to  Brentwood, 
Near  this  place,  Stewart's  brigade  of  Hatch's  division  had  a 
sharp  engagement  with  Buford's  division.  From  Brent- 
wood,  Johnson's  division  and  Croxton's  brigade  were  moved 
east  to  the  Nolensville  turnpike,  and  then,  turning  north, 
moved  on  toward  Nashville.  Late  in  the  afternoon  we 
were  halted  two  miles  from  Nashville  and  ordered  to  build 
a  temporary  line  of  works  across  the  turnpike. 

After  completing  the  works,  our  horses  were  sent  to  the 
rear  and  a  fresh  supply  of  ammunition  issued  to  the  men. 
During  the  night  the  enemy  moved  up  near  our  position,  but 
made  no  attack,  though  there  was  considerable  picket  firing 
during  the  night  in  our  front.  Early  the  next  morning  we 
moved  into  Nashville,  and  were  placed  in  rifle-pits  on  the 
left  of  Thomas's  line,  between  the  Murfreesboro  turnpike 
and  Cumberland  River. 

On  the  3rd,  Wilson's  cavalry  was  relieved  by  Steed- 
man's  troops  and  ordered  to  the  north  side  of  the  river,  to 
continue  the  line,  on  the  left  and  to  watch  Thomas's  long 
line  of  communication  with  Louisville.  All  the  crossings  for 
some  distance  above  and  below  Nashville  were  kept  guarded 
by  the  cavalry.  Croxton's  brigade  went  into  camp  nearly 
opposite  the  works  on  the  south  side,  and  remained  in  that 
position  until  the  nth.  During  this  time  there  was  great 
activity  going  on  in  Wilson's  camps,  as  every  effort  was 
being  made  to  put  this  arm  of  the  service  in  an  efficient  con 
dition  for  the  next  move. 

All  broken-down  horses  were  turned  in,  and  the  govern 
ment  corrals  and  the  adjacent  country  searched  for  horses. 
By  these  means,  Wilson  almost  doubled  the  strength  of  his 
cavalry.  Horses  were  newrly  shod  and  extra  shoes  fitted 
ready  for  an  emergency.  Clothing  was  issued  to  the  men 
and  the  old  ones  and  their  inhabitants  consigned  to  the 
flames.  Thomas  intended  to  move  out  and  attack  Hood  as 
soon  as  his  cavalry  could  be  mounted  and  his  troops  con 
centrated.  When  Schofield's  troops  reached  Nashville  they 
were  placed  in  the  lines  that  were  already  built  in  the  follow- 


222  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

ing  order:  Twenty-third  Corps  on  the  left  and  adjoining 
Steedman,  the  Fourth  Corps  in  the  center,  and  the  Sixteenth 
Corps,  from  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  on  the  right.  This 
splendid  corps  of  hardy  Western  men  under  General  A.  J. 
Smith  was  by  Sherman's  orders  sent  to  Thomas  from  Mis 
souri  and  reached  Nashville  on  the  1st  day  of  December. 
Notwithstanding  Hood's  great  defeat  at  Franklin  on 
the  3Oth  he  moved  his  army  on  toward  Nashville,  and  on 
the  3rd  day  of  December  drove  in  Thomas's  outposts  and 
placed  his  army  in  position  in  front  of  the  city.  The  line 
selected  by  him  was  on  the  high  ground  on  the  southeast 
side  of  Brown's  Creek,  extending  westwardly  from  the 
Nashville  &  Chattanooga  Railroad  across  the  Nolensville, 
Franklin  and  Granny  White  turnpikes,  crossing  the  spurs 
of  Montgomery  Hill ;  thence  deflecting  southwest  along  the 
high  groud  east  from  the  Hillsboro  turnpike,  and  thence 
westwardly  across  this  turnpike  to  a  high  hill  immediately 
west  of  the  Hillsboro  turnpike  to  Sugar  Tree  Creek. 

In  addition  to  this  line,  he  built  numerous  detached 
works  still  southwest,  extending  across  Richland  Creek  and 
the  Nashville  &  Northwestern  Railroad  and  west  of  the 
Harding  turnpike.  These  were  the  works  first  struck  by 
Wilson's  cavalry  on  the  morning  of  the  I5th,  as  will  be  stated 
further  on.  This  line  was  well  chosen  and  was  a  position  of 
great  strength.  Into  this  line  of  works  Hood  placed  his 
troops  in  the  following  order:  Cheatham  on  the  right, 
Lee  in  the  center  and  Stewart  on  the  left,  with  Forrest's  cav 
alry  on  his  flanks.  From  the  most  reliable  figures  obtainable 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  Hood  had  at  least  forty-two  thousand 
men  in  the  trenches  at  Nashville. 

On  the  5th,  Hood  detached  Bate's  division  of  Cheat- 
ham's  corps  and  part  of  Forrest's  cavalry  and  sent  them  to 
destroy  the  railroad  and  to  capture  Murfreesboro.  Three 
block-houses  were  captured  and  the  bridges  burned,  but  no 
serious  harm  was  inflicted  upon  the  track.  On  the  6th,  Bate 
was  reinforced  by  two  additional  brigades  of  infantry  and 
the  next  morning  approached  Murfreesboro.  Rousseau  was 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  223 

holding  the  place  with  eight  thousand  men  and  as  Bate  de 
clined  to  make  a  direct  attack,  Milroy  was  ordered  to  move 
out  and  engage  him.  After  some  sharp  righting,  Bate  was 
routed  and  driven  from  the  field  with  considerable  loss. 
Bate's  troops  were  recalled,  but  Forrest  continued  to  oper 
ate  between  Nashville  and  Murfreesboro. 

Governor  Harris  and  R.  L.  Caruthers  accompanied 
Hood's  army  on  this  "wild  campaign,"  expecting  that  Nash 
ville  would  be  captured  and  Caruthers,  wrho,  it  is  said,  had 
been  elected  Governor  to  succeed  Harris,  would  be  inducted 
into  office,  amid  the  boom  of  cannon.  This  distinguished 
citizen  was  doomed  to  disappointment,  as  a  loyal  son  of  Ten 
nessee  was  occupying  that  honorable  position,  and  no  doubt 
it  was  a  sad  disappointment  to  be  "so  near  and  yet  so  far" 
from  this  coveted  prize  and  position  of  honor. 

General  Thomas  had  hoped  to  be  ready  to  attack  Hood 
sooner  than  he  did,  but  was  delayed  in  procuring  horses  for 
his  artillery  and  remounts  for  his  cavalry.  Grant  was  dissat 
isfied  at  what  seemed  to  him  a  useless  delay,  and  urged  him 
to  attack  at  once,  but  "Old  Pap,"  as  the  boys  called  him, 
knew  more  about  the  situation  than  he  did.  The  weather, 
which  previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  troops  had  been  good, 
became,  shortly  after  reaching  Nashville,  exceedingly  cold 
for  that  latitude.  About  the  8th,  a  driving  storm  of  rain  and 
sleet  set  in.  This  continued  for  about  twenty-four  hours, 
freezing  as  it  fell,  making  it  utterly  impossible  for  the  cav 
alry  to  move  and  exceedingly  difficult  for  the  infantry  to 
move  about  in  the  performance  of  camp  duty,  so  slippery  was 
the  surface.  It  was  a  war  with  the  elements,  as  well  as  the 
enemy,  and  it  is  very  doubtful  if  Thomas  could  have  won  a 
victory  under  the  circumstances.  But  our  grand  "old  hero," 
who  had  never  lost  a  battle,  had  the  entire  confidence  of  his 
troops,  and  his  true  character  seemed  to  shine  brighter  on 
this  occasion  than  ever  before.  He  won  the  first  Union  vic 
tory  in  the  West,  at  Mill  Springs.  At  Murfreesboro,  on  that 
terrible  December  day  when  all  seemed  lost,  he  set  a  noble 
example,  and  was  designated  "the  lion-hearted  hero,  calm 


224  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

amid  the  fury  of  battle."  At  bloody  Chickamauga,  when 
the  Union  army  was  being  swept  from  the  field,  he  turned  at 
bay  and  was  ever  afterwards  called  "The  Rock  of  Chicka 
mauga."  Later  on,  to  the  same  commander,  while  at  Chatta 
nooga,  he  said,  "We  will  hold  the  town  till  we  starve." 

General  Thomas  was  a  Southern  man,  but  the  govern 
ment  did  not  have  a  more  loyal  or  faithful  soldier  in  its 
ranks  than  this  grand  old  hero.  To  show  that  he  was  faith 
ful  and  true  to  the  Union  and  its  flag,  and  free  from  all  petty 
desires,  he  yielded  a  ready  acquiescence  in  the  selection  of 
General  Sherman  to  command  the  Military  Division  of  the 
Mississippi,  his  junior  in  years,  experience  and  commission, 
and  at  no  time  his  superior  as  a  commander.  He  executed 
all  the  orders  of  his  superior  faithfully  and  co-operated  with 
him  in  all  plans  and  movements  of  his  army.  He  was  no 
army  pet,  consequently  was  never  on  favored  duty  of  any 
kind,  and  possibly  no  commander  ever  had  so  few  leaves  of 
absence.  The  fame  of  General  Thomas  is  so  well  known 
that  comment  is  unnecessary.  He  was  always  at  the  front. 

Sherman  having  severed  his  connection  with  the  forces 
in  Tennessee,  Thomas  received  all  of  his  orders  direct  from 
Grant.  Thomas  was  in  command  of  all  the  troops  operating 
in  the  Departments  of  the  Cumberland  and  Ohio,  and  to  him 
was  committed  the  task  of  driving  Hood's  army  from  Ten 
nessee.  The  same  army  that  had  confronted  Sherman  in 
Georgia  was  now  before  Thomas  at  Nashville.  The  audacity 
and  boldness  of  Hood's  movement  was  calculated  to  depress 
the  spirits  of  his  men,  for  if  defeated,  there  was  no  army 
close  enough  to  come  to  their  rescue.  Beside  all  of  this, 
Thomas's  army  was  badly  scattered,  and  when  once  collected 
the  officers  and  men  were  strangers  to  each  other,  save  the 
uniform  and  the  old  flag.  In  Hood's  ranks  were  thousands 
of  Tennesseans  who  were  glad  to  press  their  native  soil  once 
more,  and  when  he  marched  south,  hundreds  continued  to 
press  the  soil  of  their  native  State  while  his  broken  and 
shattered  army  moved  south. 


GKNERAL    GKO.    H.    THOMAS 


TENNESSEE:  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  225 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

BATTLE  OF  NASHVILLE — A  GREAT  UNION  VICTORY — THE  GREAT 
CAVALRY     BATTLE     OF     THE     WEST — WILSON'S     CAVALRY 

.     CAPTURING  FORTS — HOOD'S  ARMY  WRECKED THE  DEFEAT 

AND  ROUT — CAPTURING  PRISONERS  AND  GUNS — THE  PUR 
SUIT. 

During  this  extreme  cold  weather  the  soldiers  of  both 
armies  were  trying  to  keep  warm  around  the  blazing  camp- 
fires,  while  the  men  on  the  picket-lines  stood  shivering  like  a 
fellow  with  the  ague.  On  the  I2th  there  were  some  signs 
of  a  "thaw-out,"  consequently  General  Thomas  ordered  Wil 
son  to  move  his  cavalry  from  Edgefield  to  the  south  side  of 
the  river  and  take  up  a  position  on  the  right  of  his  line.  The 
earth  was  still  covered  with  ice  and  it  was  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  that  Wilson  was  able  to  reach  the  position  assigned 
him.  This  move  of  Wilson  thoroughly  convinced  General 
Thomas  that  he  could  not  use  his  cavalry  so  long  as  the  ice 
remained  upon  the  ground;  besides,  the  horses  could  not 
draw  the  artillery  and  wagons  over  the  slippery  surface.  This 
caused  another  delay,  and  as  we  were  unable  to  put  up  our 
tents  on  account  of  the  frozen  condition  of  the  ground  we 
passed  several  very  uncomfortable  nights  on  the  cold,  icy 
ground,  with  the  sky  for  a  roof  and  old  Mother  Earth  for 
abed. 

The  position  of  Hood's  army  around  Nashville  re 
mained  the  same,  and  with  the  exception  of  occasional  picket- 
firing  nothing  of  special  importance  occurred  from  the  ist 
to  the  I4th.  The  weather,  which  had  entirely  stopped  all 
offensive  operations,  began  to  moderate,  and  by  the  I4th  the 
ground  had  thawed  out  sufficiently  to  enable  men  and  horses 
to  stand  up.  General  Thomas,  believing  that  there  would 


226  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

be  a  general  "thaw-out,"  called  a  meeting  of  his  corps  com 
manders  on  the  afternoon  of  the  I4th  and  laid  before  them 
his  plan  of  attack,  and  after  a  thorough  discussion  until  all 
fully  understood  it,  special  field  order  No.  342  was  issued. 
This  order  contained  his  plan  of  battle. 

The  formation  of  the  Union  troops  from  left  to  right 
was  as  follows:  General  Steedman,  commanding  the  Dis 
trict  of  the  Etowah,  formed  the  left ;  General  Wood's  Fourth 
and  General  Schofield's  Twenty-third  Corps,  the  center; 
General  Smith's  Sixteenth  Corps  and  Wilson's  cavalry,  the 
right.  Brigadier-General  Miller,  commanding  the  garrison 
of  Nashville,  and  General  Donaldson,  with  the  quarter 
master's  troops,  occupied  the  interior  line. 

General  Wilson  formed  his  cavalry  in  the  following 
order :  Hatch's  Fifth  Division  on  the  right  of  the  Sixteenth 
Corps ;  Croxton's  brigade  of  McCook's  First  Division  to  the 
right  of  Hatch.  The  other  two  brigades — Second  and  Third 
— and  Eighteenth  Indiana  Battery,  were  in  Kentucky  after 
General  Lyon,  who  had  crossed  the  Cumberland  River  near 
Clarksville  and  was  trying  to  reach  the  Louisville  &  Nash 
ville  Railroad  at  some  point  north  of  Nashville.  General 
Johnson's  Sixth  Division  was  on  Croxton's  right — the  right 
of  his  division  extending  to  the  Cumberland  River.  General 
Knipe's  Seventh  Division  was  formed  on  the  Harding  turn 
pike,  inside  of  the  works,  and  during  the  early  part  of  the 
morning  was  held  in  reserve,  to  support  either  Hatch  or 
Smith. 

Hood  had  placed  a  battery  on  the  extreme  left  of  his 
line,  near  Cumberland  River.  This  battery  was  protected  by 
light  earthworks  and  supported  by  cavalry,  and  as  Johnson 
advanced  on  the  morning  of  the  I5th  it  shelled  him  vigor 
ously,  but  the  fun  was  soon  spoiled  when  Lieutenant-Com 
mander  LeRoy  Fitch,  who  commanded  the  gunboats,  began 
enfilading  this  part  of  Hood's  line.  The  tremendous  dis 
charges  of  his  heavy  guns  could  be  heard  above  the  rattling 
fire  of  the  carbines  and  the  light  3-inch  Rodmans  of  Wilson's 
cavalry,  and  no  doubt  contributed  largely  to  the  demoraliza- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  227 

tion  of  this  part  of  Hood's  line,  which  was  held  by  Chal- 
mer's  division,  supported  by  infantry. 

The  effective  force  of  General  Wilson's  corps  on  the 
morning  of  the  1 5th  was  twelve  thousand,  five  hundred 
men  and  eighteen  guns.  It  was  a  fine  body  of  men,  but  very 
deficient  in  horses,  many  being  wholly  unfit  for  active  ser 
vice.  Reveille  was  sounded  at  4  a.  m.  on  that  chilly  morn 
ing,  and  by  6  o'clock  the  men  were  in  line  ready  to  move. 
A  heavy  fog  hung  over  the  two  armies  during  the  morning. 
This  and  the  unevenness  of  the  ground  completely  con 
cealed  the  movements  of  the  Union  army.  The  fog  lifted 
about  9  o'clock,  revealing  to  Hood  and  his  shivering  soldiers 
a  grand  and  magnificent  military  display,  as  the  solid  lines 
of  blue  moved  forward  in  splendid  order,  with  colors  flying 
and  bands  playing.  The  house-tops  in  Nashville  and  the  hills 
were  covered  with  people,  all  eager  to  witness  the  display 
and  battle,  while  from  Montgomery  and  Overton  hills 
Hood's  troops  could  witness  all  of  our  movements ;  and  to 
them  no  doubt  it  was  an  unexpected  revelation.  Hood,  it 
seems,  was  totally  unaware  of  any  intention  on  the  part  of 
Thomas  to  attack  his  position  and  especially  his  left  flank, 
for  on  advancing  toward  his  position  during  the  morning 
we  came  upon  unfinished  works. 

Steedman,  on  the  left,  was  the  first  to  move  out  and 
begin  the  attack.  This  heavy  demonstration  on  Hood's  right 
was  not  intended  as  a  real  attack,  though  it  had  that  effect, 
and  he  was  led  to  believe  that  this  part  of  his  line  was  to  be 
attacked  in  force.  As  soon  as  Steedman  had  completed  his 
movement,  General  Smith,  commanding  the  Sixteenth  Corps, 
moved  out.  Then  the  long,  dark  lines  of  Wilson's  cavalry 
began  moving  forward  on  the  extreme  right  and  commenced 
the  grand  movement  of  the  day. 

Croxton's  brigade  had  been  standing  in  line  of  battle 
during  the  morning  just  outside  of  the  entrenchments  near 
the  Nashville  &  Northwestern  Railroad  and  on  the  right  of 
Hatch's  division.  It  was  about.  10  a.  m.  when  the  order  came 
to  move.  Croxton  threw  out  a  strong  line  of  skirmishers 


228  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

and  moved  his  brigade  out  between  the  Charlotte  turnpike 
and  the  Nashville  &  Northwestern  Railroad.  The  skir 
mishers  moved  forward,  closely  followed  by  the  brigade, 
and  soon  the  sharp  firing  in  front  warned  us  that  the  enemy's 
advance  had  been  struck.  The  brigade  continued  to  advance, 
and  during  the  forenoon  there  was  some  very  sharp  skir 
mishing  in  Croxton's  front. 

Just  after  crossing  Richland  Creek,  the  enemy  opened 
fire  on  Croxton's  brigade  from  a  battery  posted  on  the 
Charlotte  turnpike.  Croxton  wheeled  the  Second  Michigan 
to  the  right,  and  supporting  it  with  the  Eighth  Iowa,  moved 
toward  the  hill  on  which  the  enemy  were  posted,  and  after 
a  few  volleys  from  the  revolving  rifles  of  the  Second  Michi 
gan,  the  enemy  fell  back.  This  move  turned  the  enemy's 
position  in  front  of  Johnson's  division  on  the  Charlotte  turn 
pike.  Croxton  received  an  order  from  Wilson  directing  him 
to  remain  and  support  Johnson's  division,  which  was  on 
his  right,  and  who  had  not  yet  gotten  into  position  owing 
to  the  roughness  of  the  country  and  the  long  distance  he  had 
to  move. 

During  the  time  Hatch's  division,  which  was  just  to  our 
left,  was  driving  the  enemy  along  the  Harding  turnpike, 
and  after  crossing  Richland  Creek  the  Twelfth  Tennessee 
Cavalry,  Colonel  Spaulding  commanding,  made  a  gallant 
saber  charge,  routing  the  enemy,  capturing  forty  or  fifty 
prisoners  and  General  Chalmers'  headquarters  train,  con 
sisting  of  fourteen  wagons,  which  contained  his  records, 
baggage  and  safe. 

In  perhaps  no  battle  of  the  war  did  cavalry  and  infantry 
move  forward  on  the  same  line  and  join  in  the  desperate 
work  so  eagerly  and  with  so  much  vigor  and  unanimity. 
Often  it  was  a  race  to  see  who  would  be  the  first  to  cross 
the  ''dreaded  ditch,"  and  if  the  ground  was  too  rough  to 
charge  mounted,  Wilson's  troopers  would  dismount  and  with 
a  yell  charge  the  rifle-pits.  This  part  of  Hood's  line  was 
held  by  infantry  and  cavalry,  and  during  the  day  some  sharp 
fighting  occurred  on  this  part  of  the  line.  Wilson  wheeled 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  229 

Hatch's  division  to  the  left  and  re-established  his  connection 
with  the  infantry.  In  making  this  move  his  right  flank 
struck  the  enemy's  line  on  the  flank  and  rear,  completely 
enveloping  it. 

Stewart  was  in  command  of  Hood's  left,  and  during 
the  morning  he  found  that  Thomas  was  working  toward 
his  left  and  beyond  his  works.  He  therefore  set  his  troops 
to  work  early  in  the  morning  building  works  and  extending 
his  line  farther  to  his  left.  Finding  that  his  own  troops 
could  not  man  the  lines,  he  called  for  reinforcements,  and 
Hood  sent  him  Johnson's  division  of  Lee's  corps.  These 
works  were  west  of  the  Hillsboro  turnpike,  and  about  I 
p.  m.  Hatch  dismounted  his  men,  assaulted  and  captured 
one  of  these  advanced  redoubts,  containing  four  guns  and 
some  three  hundred  men.  This  was  the  first  fort  captured 
from  Hood,  and  was  accomplished  with  dismounted  cavalry. 
Immediately  after  the  capture  of  this  fort,  Hatch's  division 
charged  a  second  line  and  captured  another  four-gun  battery, 
with  its  infantry  support.  The  captured  guns  were  wheeled 
around  and  used  upon  the  retreating  enemy.  In  the  capture 
of  this  last  fort,  McMillan's  brigade  of  McArthur's  division, 
Sixteenth  Corps,  claimed  a  part  of  the  honor,  but  as  the 
guidons  of  Hatch's  division  were  the  first  over  the  works, 
the  honor  and  captured  guns  were  credited  to  Hatch's  brave 
men  by  McMillan's  brigade. 

While  these  successful  movements  were  going  on,  Wil 
son's  cavalry  had  not  yet  reached  Hood's  true  flank  on  ac 
count  of  the  extension  of  Stewart's  line  to  his  left.  Late  in 
the  afternoon  Schofield's  Twenty-third  Corps  was  moved  to 
the  right  of  the  Sixteenth  Corps,  so  that  Wilson  could  oper 
ate  more  freely  upon  Hood's  left  and  rear.  Shortly  after 
reaching  this  position,  Cooper's  brigade  of  Couch's  division, 
Twenty-third  Corps,  assaulted  and  captured  a  line  of  works 
near  the  Hillsboro  turnpike.  In  this  brigade  were  the  Third 
and  Sixth  Tennessee  Volunteers,  our  former  companions 
while  in  Morgan's  Seventh  Division,  Army  of  the  Ohio. 

Croxton  was   ordered  to  move  his  brigade   from  the 


230  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Charlotte  turnpike  across  the  country  to  the  Hillsboro  turn 
pike.  In  making  this  move  Croxton's  brigade  skirmished 
most  all  the  way,  and  shortly  after  crossing  the  Harding 
turnpike  Croxton  encountered  a  portion  of  Chalmers'  di 
vision,  which  had  been  in  Johnson's  front  but  was  now  try 
ing  to  reach  Hood's  left.  The  First  Tennessee  was  in  the 
advance  and  was  marching  left  in  front,  and  shortly  after 
dark  was  fired  upon  by  the  enemy,  who,  by  the  flash  of  their 
guns,  seemed  to  be  either  behind  a  stone  wall  or  in  rifle- 
pits.  General  Croxton  immediately  ordered  Lieutenant-Col 
onel  Dyer  to  dismount  his  regiment  and  dislodge  the  enemy. 
The  order  was  promptly  obeyed,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
regiment  was  over  the  fence  and  in  line  ready  to  move.  At 
the  command  "forward,"  the  men  raised  the  yell  and  moved 
forward  under  a  brisk  fire,  and  in  a  few  minutes  reached 
the  stone  wrall,  and  springing  over  succeeded  in  capturing  a 
portion  of  the  Fifth  Mississippi  Cavalry.  The  prisoners 
were  sent  to  the  rear,  and  moving  to  the  opposite  side,  again 
the  regiment  opened  a  brisk  fire  on  some  troops  that  were 
posted  in  the  woods  a  short  distance  in  its  front.  In  a  short 
time  the  enemy's  fire  slackened  and  soon  they  fell  back, 
and  all  became  quiet  again. 

The  only  casualties  in  the  First  Tennessee  were  two 
men  wounded,  as  follows :  Thomas  Jones,  Company  G,  and 
Wiley  Milligan,  Company  I. 

Darkness  having  closed  the  operations  for  the  day  and 
shut  out  from  view  the  contending  forces,  Croxton's  brigade 
was  ordered  to  bivouac  near  the  Hillsboro  turnpike.  This 
was  a  hard  day  on  us,  as  we  had  been  in  the  saddle  since 
early  morning. 

The  operation  of  Thomas's  army  on  the  first  day  of 
battle  was  a  grand  success  and  was  rewarded  by  the  capture 
of  seventeen  pieces  of  artillery  and  twelve  hundred  prisoners, 
besides  large  quantities  of  small  arms  and  equipments.  Wil 
son's  cavalry  had  fought  during  the  day  infantry  and  cav 
alry,  had  cleared  their  front,  covered  the  extreme  right  of 
Thomas's  infantry,  and  not  only  enveloped  Hood's  flank, 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  231 

but  had  taken  it  in  reverse.  Hood's  flanks  were  much 
stronger  than  his  center,  and  during  the  day  Wilson's  cav 
alry  had  completely  turned  his  left  and  swept  everything 
before  them,  and  at  night  bivouacked  near  his  line  of  retreat. 

During  the  night  Hood  withdrew  his  army  and  took  up 
a  new  position  south  of  the  one  he  occupied  on  the  morning 
of  the  1 5th.  This  new  line  was  much  shorter,  and  extended 
from  Over-ton's  Hill  on  the  Nashville  &  Decatur  Railroad, 
west  across  the  Franklin  and  Granny  White  turnpikes, 
thence  almost  due  south  along  a  range  of  hills  almost  paral 
lel  with  the  Granny  White  turnpike,  and  reaching  nearly  to 
the  Brentwood  Hills.  Hood  kept  his  weary  troops  working 
all  night  digging  rifle-pits  and  building  forts,  so  by  morning 
he  had  constructed  a  much  stronger  line  than  the  one  just 
abandoned. 

The  Union  army  bivouacked  on  the  cold  ground,  feel 
ing  assured  of  a  complete  victory  the  next  day.  The  early 
part  of  the  morning  of  the  i6th  was  spent  in  reconnoitering 
the  enemy's  position.  The  ground  on  Hood's  left  was  very 
hilly,  consequently  Wilson  moved  his  troops  forward  dis 
mounted  and  by  noon  was  east  of  the  Granny  White  turn 
pike  and  had  completely  turned  Hood's  left.  During  these 
early  movements  there  was  some  sharp  fighting,  but  no 
ground  was  lost.  Wilson's  cavalry  forced  back  the  enemy, 
completely  turning  his  left  flank,  and  was  now  in  possession 
of  the  hills  through  which  the  Granny  White  turnpike  runs, 
completely  cutting  off  Hood's  line  of  retreat  by  this  route  in 
case  of  disaster.  Stewart  made  several  attempts  during  the 
forenoon  to  drive  back  Wilson's  dismounted  cavalry  and  re 
take  the  ground  lost,  but  was  unsuccessful  and  was  repulsed 
without  difficulty. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  Union  left  and  see  what  was  go 
ing  on  there.  Generals  Steedman  and  Wood  had  moved  for 
ward  early  in  the  morning  and  discovered  the  enemy  thor 
oughly  entrenched  on  Overton's  Hill.  At  3  p.  m.  the  works 
were  assaulted  by  Post's  brigade,  Beatty's  division  of  Wood's 
Fourth  Corps,  supported  by  Streight's  brigade,  of  the  same 


232  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

corps,  and  Grosvenor's  brigade  of  white  troops,  and  Thomp 
son's  brigade  of  colored  troops,  all  of  Steedman's  command. 
The  assault  was  made  with  great  courage,  but  the  fire  was 
so  destructive  that  the  two  assaulting  columns  were  repulsed 
with  severe  loss,  Colonel  Post  being  among  the  severely 
wounded. 

The  two  assaulting  columns  were  re-formed  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill  for  another  charge.  Smith,  Schofield  and  Wilson 
now  assaulted  Hood's  center  and  left  with  great  vigor, 
sweeping  everything  before  them.  The  shout  of  the  vic 
torious  troops  on  the  right  was  caught  up  by  those  of  Wood 
and  Steedman,  and  again  they  pushed  forward  upon  the 
enemy  on  Overtoil's  Hill,  this  time  driving  everything  be 
fore  them  and  capturing  the  works.  The  shout  of  victory 
was  heard  by  Thomas's  charging  troops,  which  was  taken 
up  and  responsive  cheers  heard  from  one  end  of  the  Union 
line  to  the  other.  Hood's  lines  were  broken,  and  there  being 
no  reserves  to  restore  order  or  save  the  day,  his  troops  from 
one  end  of  his  line  to  the  other  threw  away  knapsacks  and 
guns  and  rushed  for  the  rear,  which  at  that  time  was  a  long 
way  off. 

Hood's  troops  rushed  toward  the  Franklin  turnpike  in 
great  confusion,  and  soon  lost  all  semblance  of  organization 
and  retreated  in  the  wildest  confusion.  General  Wilson's 
command  was  delayed  in  the  pursuit,  caused  by  the  troops 
being  so  far  from  the  led  horses,  as  the  men  leading  them 
made  slow  progress  over  the  hills  and  dense  forests.  Crox- 
ton's  brigade,  which  had  been  in  reserve,  was  now  moved 
to  the  right  of  Hammond's  brigade  of  Knipe's  division,  and 
in  making  this  move  captured  several  prisoners. 

As  soon  as  Wilson's  men  gained  their  horses  the  pur 
suit  was  begun,  with  the  commands  of  Hatch,  Knipe  and 
Croxton  on  the  Granny  White  turnpike  and  Johnson  on 
the  Hillsboro  turnpike.  Everything  indicated  a  rout,  and 
after  moving  a  short  distance  the  leading  division — Hatch's 
— encountered  Chalmers'  division  about  dark,  well  posted 
behind  a  rail  barricade  across  the  turnpike.  Hatch  dis- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  233 

mounted  his  division  and  charged  the  enemy,  driving  him 
from  his  position.  General  Rucker  was  wounded  and  cap 
tured,  besides  several  prisoners  and  a  Confederate  flag.  In 
this  engagement  the  Twelfth  Tennessee,  Union,  fought  the 
Twelfth  Tennessee,  Confederate,  and  in  the  darkness  and 
during  the  hand-to-hand  fighting  the  Twelfth  Tennessee, 
Union,  succeeded  in  capturing  General  Rucker,  who  was  in 
command  of  a  Tennessee  brigade,  also  his  flag. 

The  line  of  Hood's  retreat  revealed  the  fact  that  his 
army  had  retreated  in  great  haste,  as  the  turnpikes  were 
thickly  strewn  with  guns  and  accoutrements,  while  he  made 
no  effort  to  carry  off  his  wounded  or  bury  the  dead.  Hood's 
veteran  army,  which  had  been  engaged  in  all  the  hard- 
fought  battles  in  Tennessee  and  on  the  Georgia  campaign — 
"one  hundred  days  under  fire" — was  wrecked  upon  the  field 
of  Nashville. 

In  perhaps  no  battle  of  the  war  was  there  such  a  small 
loss  of  life  to  the  victors.  The  Union  troops  repeatedly 
assaulted  the  enemy's  lines,  and  but  one  assault  was  unsuc 
cessful,  and  that  was  made  upon  the  strongest  position  held 
by  Hood,  on  Overton's  Hill  on  the  Union  left.  And  it  is 
doubtful  if  that  would  have  been  a  failure  had  not  the  gal 
lant  leader  of  the  main  column  fallen  at  the  critical  moment, 
when  the  presence  of  a  brave  and  determined  leader  is  so 
important.  The  battle  moved  on  vigorously  from  beginning 
to  end,  the  cavalry  and  infantry  vicing  with  each  other  in 
the  effort  to  carry  everything  in  their  front,  reflecting  the 
highest  type  of  generalship  and  the  displaying  of  that  true 
courage  due  Thomas  and  his  brave  soldiers. 

This  was  called  the  great  cavalry  battle  of  the  west,  and 
it  is  exceedingly  doubtful  if  there  was  a  single  battle  of  the 
war  where  so  much  gallant  and  meritorious  service  was  ren 
dered  by  that  arm  of  the  service.  The  first  fort  captured 
at  the  opening  of  the  battle  was  accomplished  by  Wilson's 
brave  troops  fighting  as  flat-footed  infantry,  and  proving 
beyond  a  doubt  that  if  General  Hooker  had  been  present  at 
the  battle  of  Nashville  he  could  have  seen  the  remains  of 


234  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

several  dead  cavalrymen.  This  brave  old  hero  was  credited 
with  the  remark,  "Who  ever  saw  the  body  of  a  dead'cavalry- 
man  ?"  or  that  he  would  pay  twenty-five  dollars  for  the  "dead 
body  of  a  cavalryman." 

The  fruits  of  this  battle  were  four  thousand,  five  hun 
dred  prisoners,  among  whom  were  Major-General  Ed  John 
son  and  Brigadier-Generals  H.  R.  Jackson,  T.  B.  Smith  and 
E.  W.  Rucker ;  all  of  the  wounded  left  upon  the  field,  fifty- 
four  pieces  of  artillery,  together  with  thousands  of  small 
arms  and  accoutrements  and  twenty-five  battle-flags.  The 
loss  in  killed  and  wounded  on  each  side  was  light  when  the 
numbers  engaged  are  taken  into  consideration.  General 
Thomas  reported  a  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  of 
three  thousand  and  sixty-one.  The  loss  in  Wilson's  cavalry 
was  three  hundred  and  twenty-nine. 

It  is  said  that  Hood  issued  an  order  on  the  morning  of 
the  1 6th  for  his  army  to  retreat,  but  he  could  not  withdraw 
under  fire,  so  that  afternoon  his  routed  and  disorganized 
army  was  seen  flying  southward  from  the  battlefield.  Let 
us  now  turn  to  the  pursuit.  After  the  defeat  of  Chalmers 
on  the  night  of  the  i6th,  Wrilson  deemed  it  unwise  to  con 
tinue  the  pursuit,  as  the  night  was  very  dark  and  the  men 
and  horses  completely  exhausted  from  the  hard  day's  work. 
The  cavalry  bivouacked  for  the  night  as  follows :  Hatch, 
Croxton  and  Knipe  on  the  Granny  White  turnpike,  and 
Johnson  on  the  Hillsboro  turnpike. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  pursuit  was  continued  by 
the  cavalry,  followed  by  the  infantry.  At  Brentwood,  Crox- 
ton's  brigade  was  ordered  to  take  the  Wilson  turnpike,  John 
son's  division  the  Hillsboro  turnpike,  while  Hatch  and  Knipe 
moved  their  divisions  along  the  Franklin  turnpike.  Just  a 
short  distance  beyond  Brentwood,  Knipe  began  skirmishing 
with  Hood's  rear  guard,  which  was  kept  up  until  Hollow 
Tree  Gap  was  reached.  Here  the  rear  guard  of  the  routed 
army  made  a  stand  and  offered  battle.  The  position  was 
handsomely  carried  by  Knipe's  division,  supported  by  Hatch. 
The  enemy  was  routed  and  fell  back  rapidly  toward  Frank- 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  235 

lin.  In  this  spirited  engagement  the  enemy  lost  by  capture 
four  hundred  and  thirteen  officers  and  enlisted  men  and  two 
flags. 

Croxton's  brigade  skirmished  with  the  rear  guard  the 
most  of  the  way  to  Franklin.  Hood  made  a  show  of  re 
sistance  at  Franklin,  but  his  flanks  being  turned  he  fell  back 
toward  Columbia.  Croxton  and  Hatch  moved  to  the  left 
of  Franklin,  swimming  Harpeth  River  at  McGavock's  Ford, 
and  encamped  for  the  night  near  Douglass  Church,  on  the 
Lewisburg  turnpike.  In  making  this  move  the  enemy  was 
encountered  only  in  small  force,  but  we  succeeded  in  cap 
turing  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  prisoners.  Johnson 
crossed  below  and  Knipe  in  front  of  Franklin.  Hood,  finding 
his  flanks  turned,  abandoned  the  place,  which  contained  all 
of  his  wrounded  and  a  large  quantity  of  rations. 

The  little  town  of  Franklin  presented  a  sight  that  to  be 
seen  would  never  be  forgotten.  All  public  buildings, 
churches,  school-houses,  stores  and  even  shops  and  private 
dwellings  had  been  converted  into  hospitals,  into  which  the 
wounded  had  been  crowded  after  the  desperate  battle  of 
November  30.  A  good  many  of  our  own  wounded  were 
among  the  sufferers  in  the  crowded  hospitals  and  no  doubt 
many  of  the  wounded  of  both  armies  died  for  want  of  proper 
attention. 

Wilson  continued  the  pursuit  south  from  Franklin  with 
great  energy,  moving  on  all  the  roads,  and  continued  to 
harass  the  flanks  and  rear  of  Hood's  army.  Johnson,  who 
was  moving  on  the  Carter's  Creek  turnpike,  turned  Hood's 
right  flank  and  dashed  on  in  the  direction  of  Spring  Hill  to 
strike  the  retreating  army  at  that  point.  Croxton  was  mov 
ing  on  the  Lewisburg  turnpike,  driving  the  enemy  rapidly 
along  that  thoroughfare,  while  Hatch  and  Knipe  pushed  him 
along  the  Columbia  turnpike.  The  flanking  columns  were 
ordered  to  push  forward  and  if  possible  to  pass  around  the 
flanks  of  Hood's  rear  guard,  while  the  center  column  kept 
pressing  the  rear.  • 

A  short  distance  south  of  Franklin,  General  Lee,  who  at 


236  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

that  time  was  in  command  of  Hood's  rear  guard,  decided 
to  make  a  stand  in  order  that  his  exhausted  troops  might 
enjoy  a  night's  rest.  But  Hatch  and  Knipe  attacked  Hood's 
rear  with  great  energy,  driving  it  back  in  confusion,  cap 
turing  three  guns.  In  this  running  fight  General  Lee  was 
wounded,  and  under  cover  of  darkness  fled  in  disorder  to 
Spring  Hill. 

General  Lee,  in  his  official  report  of  the  Hood  cam 
paign,  makes  the  following  mention  of  the  pursuit :  "Early 
on  the  morning  of  the  I7th  our  cavalry  was  driven  in,  in  con 
fusion,  by  the  enemy,  who  at  once  commenced  a  most  vigor 
ous  pursuit,  his  cavalry  charging  at  every  opportunity  and 
in  the  most  daring  manner.  It  was  apparent  that  they  were 
determined  to  make  the  retreat  a  rout  if  possible.  *  *  * 
I  was  compelled  to  withdraw  rapidly  toward  Franklin,  as  the 
enemy  was  throwing  a  force  in  my  rear  from  both  the  right 
arid  left  of  the  pike,  on  roads  coming  into  the  pike  near 
Franklin  and  five  miles  in  my  rear." 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  i8th  the  pursuit  was  con 
tinued,  although  we  were  out  of  rations,  with  Croxton  and 
Johnson  on  the  flanks  endeavoring  to  strike  the  enemy  at  or 
near  Spring  Hill,  with  Hatch  and  Knipe  in  the  center.  On 
reaching  Spring  Hill  we  found  the  enemy  had  left  early  in 
the  morning  for  Columbia.  This  day's  march  was  made 
through  mud  and  slush  and  a  cold,  drizzling  rain.  This  was 
a  quiet  day,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  the  command  was 
halted  some  four  miles  south  of  Spring  Hill,  where  it 
bivouacked  for  the  night. 

Before  leaving  camp  on  the  morning  of  the  iQth,  rations 
were  issued  to  the  troops,  after  which  the  whole  column 
resumed  the  pursuit  through  a  storm  of  rain  and  snow. 
Hood  fell  back  during  the  night  and  by  morning  was  on 
the  south  side  of  Rutherford's  Creek.  After  crossing  the 
stream  he  destroyed  the  railroad  bridge,  and  on  reaching 
Rutherford's  Creek  wre  found  his  rear  guard  strongly  posted 
behind  works  on  the  south  bank,  completely  covering  the 
crossings. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  237 

On  approaching  Rutherford's  Creek  we  found  this  bold 
and  rapid  stream  very  much  swollen  by  the  heavy  rains  of 
the  past  twenty-four  hours.  This  rise  made  it  impossible 
for  the  cavalry  to  cross,  and  as  we  were  without  a  pontoon 
bridge,  a  short  halt  was  made.  The  deep,  swift  current  of 
Rutherford's  Creek  formed  almost  as  good  a  rear  guard  as 
Hood's  discouraged  troops.  The  rains  had  ruined  the  roads ; 
in  fact,  it  was  almost  impossible  for  the  troops  to  move 
except  along  the  turnpikes,  the  dirt  roads  being  nothing  more 
than  quagmires.  During  the  day  several  attempts  were 
made  to  cross  the  stream,  but  all  of  them  failed. 

Wood's  Fourth  Corps  reached  us  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  iQth.  This  was  a  very  dreary  and  disagreeable  day,  as 
a  cold  and  drizzling  rain  continued  to  fall  during  the  day. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  Hatch  made  a  floating  bridge  from 
material  obtained  from  the  partially  destroyed  railroad 
bridge,  and  taking  his  men  over  dismounted,  succeeded  in 
driving  back  the  enemy  from,  the  south  bank.  During  the 
night  the  pontoons  arrived  and  on  the  morning  of  the  2ist 
were  thrown  across  Rutherford's  Creek  at  or  near  where 
the  Columbia  turnpike  crosses.  Wilson's  cavalry  pushed  on 
toward  Columbia,  but  was  able  to  capture  but  few  pris 
oners,  as  Hood  had  taken  advantage  of  the  swollen  stream 
to  slip  out  of  the  way  of  his  pursuers.  At  Rutherford's 
Creek  the  divisions  of  Johnson  and  Knipe  were  turned  back 
and  sent  to  Nashville  for  the  purpose  of  being  remounted. 

On  reaching  Columbia  the  advance  of  Wilson's  cavalry 
had  a  light  skirmish  at  the  crossing  with  the  rear  of  Hood's 
army.  There  was  considerable  cannonading  during  the  day 
by  both  armies^  but  toward  night  the  firing  ceased  and  all 
became  quiet.  Duck  River  was  very  much  swollen  by  the 
recent  rains.  For  the  next  two  days  the  cavalry  remained  in 
camp,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  pontoons.  The  weather, 
which  had  been  exceedingly  gloomy  and  wet  for  the  past 
few  days,  now  changed  to  bitter  cold,  greatly  retarding  the 
work  of  laying  the  bridge  in  front  of  Columbia.  The  sudden 
freeze  caused  the  river  to  fall  rapidly,  necessitating  frequent 
alterations  and  changes  of  the  bridge. 


238  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Hood  from  the  very  start  managed  to  keep  his  wagons 
well  toward  his  front,  thereby  saving  them  from  capture. 
At  this  place  Hood  ran  some  of  his  guns  into  Duck  River 
to  prevent  capture.  Not  quite  a  month  before,  Hood's  army 
was  headed  north  and  was  full  of  hope,  expecting  to  brush 
away  the  little  army  that  confronted  them,  capture  Nash 
ville  and  march  on  to  Louisville.  But  after  the  reception 
given  his  army  at  Franklin  and  Nashville,  he  changed 
his  mind,  about-faced  and,  like  the  soldier  who  went  to  Lee 
for  a  furlough,  continued  the  march.  As  the  story  may  not 
be  familiar  to  the  reader,  I  will  relate  it.  One  day  a  soldier 
went  to  General  R.  E.  Lee  for  a  furlough.  The  general  said 
to  him,  "Take  the  position  of  a  soldier,"  which  he  promptly 
did.  Lee  then  gave  the  command,  " About-face,  forward 
march!"  And  as  the  soldier  was  not  halted  he  continued 
the  march  to  his  home. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  239 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  PURSUIT  CONTINUED — ENGAGEMENT  AT  LYNNVILLE — 
CHRISTMAS  EVE — PURSUIT  ENDS — ORDERED  TO  WATERLOO 
— WINTER  QUARTERS — THE  MOVE  INTO  MISSISSIPPI — RE 
TURN  TO  THE  OLD  CAMP. 

Hood  made  some  show  of  resistance  at  Columbia  and 
hoped  to  maintain  a  defensive  line  on  the  south  side  of  Duck 
River,  but  the  deplorable  condition  of  his  army  did  not  war 
rant  him  in  making  the  attempt,  so  he  abandoned  that  idea 
and  moved  south.  The  weather  was  cold,  and  Hood's  troops, 
who  were  thinly  clad  and  poorly  fed,  suffered  terribly  as 
they  toiled  painfully  on  over  the  frozen  ground  with  swollen 
and  bruised  feet  and  empty  haversacks.  In  order  to  end 
this  barefooted  march  in  mid-winter,  hundreds  threw  away 
their  guns  and  surrendered,  thinking  this  would  be  the 
quickest  way  to  end  their  sufferings. 

But  under  all  these  great  trials  and  misfortunes,  Hood 
displayed  great  pluck,  and  now  realized  that  the  only  way 
to  avoid  capture  before  reaching  the  Tennessee  River  was 
by  placing  a  heavy  force  in  the  rear  of  his  retreating  army. 
He  placed  Walthall,  of  Stewart's  corps,  one  of  his  youngest 
and  bravest  division  commanders,  in  charge  of  eight  bri 
gades  of  infantry,  whose  effective  strength  was  nineteen  hun 
dred  men.  This  force  was  further  stregthened  by  the  divis 
ions  of  Buford,  Jackson  and  Chalmers,  of  Forrest's  com 
mand,  numbering  not  far  from  six  thousand  men,  the  whole 
under  that  intrepid  leader,  General  N.  B.  Forrest.  With  this 
large  and  well-selected  body  of  men  Hood  expected  Forrest 
to  cover  the  retreat  of  his  army  and  save  it  from  rout  and 
destruction  if  possible. 

On  the  22nd,  Wood's  Fourth  Corps  crossed  over,  fol- 


240  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

lowed  on  the  morning  of  the  23rd  by  Wilson's  cavalry.  The 
two  days'  delay  of  Thomas's  army  at  Columbia  waiting  for 
the  pontoons  to  reach  the  front  was  wisely  improved  upon 
by  Hood,  who  kept  his  army  moving  south,  so  that  when  the 
rear  guard  was  pressed  it  would  have  a  clear  road  and  could 
fall  back  rapidly.  With  the  exception  of  his  rear  guard,  his 
army  was  badly  demoralized,  half  of  whom  were  unarmed 
and  barefooted. 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th,  Wilson's  cavalry  continued 
the  pursuit  toward  Pulaski,  with  Wood's  Fourth  Corps  fol 
lowing.  Croxton's  brigade  was  in  the  advance,  and  after 
moving  a  short  distance  began  skirmishing  with  the  rear 
guard  of  Hood's  army.  The  enemy  fell  back  as  we  ad 
vanced  and  when  Croxton's  brigade  had  reached  Lynnville, 
a  point  about  half  way  between  Columbia  and  Pulaski,  Crox- 
ton  found  the  enemy  in  line  and  ready  for  a  fight. 

Croxton  formed  his  brigade  in  line  and  at  once  moved 
forward  and  boldly  attacked  Chalmers'  division.  After 
some  pretty  sharp  fighting  Chalmers  was  routed  and  driven 
in  disorder  from  the  field.  The  pursuit  \vas  continued  to 
Buford  Station,  near  Richland  Creek.  Here  Forrest  made 
a  desperate  effort  to  hold  Wilson's  troops  in  check  in  order 
that  Hood's  weary  soldiers  might  get  a  little  rest.  .  His  posi 
tion  \vas  well  chosen,  and  with  the  aid  of  six  pieces  of  ar 
tillery  and  all  of  his  cavalry,  he  was  able  to  offer  considerable 
resistance.  Forrest  placed  his  artillery  on  the  turnpike  and 
opened  fire  on  our  advancing  troops. 

The  Union  guns  were  sent  to  the  front  and  responded 
with  great  vigor,  dealing  out  shot  and  shell  in  great  pro 
fusion.  After  a  severe  artillery  duel,  Wilson  sent  the  divis 
ions  of  Hatch  and  Harrison  to  the  support  of  Croxton,  who 
was  hotly  engaged.  The  whole  of  Wilson's  cavalry  moved 
froward,  striking  Forrest  in  front  and  flank.  The  rout  was 
complete  and  the  enemy  fled  in  confusion  across  Richland 
Creek. 

This  engagement  for  a  while  was  quite  severe.  One 
flag  and  several  prisoners  fell  into  our  hands  and  General 


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TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  241 

Buford,  one  of  Forrest's  division  commanders,  was  wounded. 
The  army  bivouacked  on  the  field  for  the  night.  The  casu 
alties  in  the  First  Tennessee  were  as  follows : 

Killed — Company  C,  James  L.  Smith ;  Company  H,  Ser 
geant  James  P.  Churchman. 

Wounded — Company  A,  James  H.  Smith ;  Company  C, 
Sergeant  James  E.  Skeen,  severely  wounded  in  right  arm; 
Company  L,  William  T.  Hall. 

In  this  engagement  Corporal  Harrison  Collins,  Com 
pany  A,  captured  General  Chalmers'  headquarters  flag.  The 
brave  corporal  saw  the  flag,  dashed  into  the  enemy's  ranks, 
and  in  a  personal  encounter  killed  the  color-bearer  and 
secured  the  flag.  After  the  engagement  Corporal  Collins, 
by  order  of  Colonel  Dyer,  took  the  captured  flag  to  General 
Croxton's  headquarters,  where  he  was  highly  complimented 
by  his  general  for  conspicuous  bravery.  He  was  ordered 
to  Washington,  where  he  was  awarded  a  medal  of  honor 
for  heroic  conduct  on  the  field.  The  writer  was  in  Wash 
ington  a  few  years  ago  and  made  an  effort  to  find  this  trophy, 
but  by  an  act  of  Congress  all  captured  flags  are  stored  away 
and  no  one  is  permitted  to  see  them.  The  following  com 
plimentary  notice  was  made  at  the  time  by  our  brigade  com 
mander: 

HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  BRIGADE,  FIRST  CAVALRY  DIVISION, 

Near  Richland  Creek,  December  25,  1864. 
LIEUT.  COL.  A.  J.  ALEXANDER, 

Chief  of  Staff,  Cavalry  Corps : 

COLONEL  :  I  have  the  honor  to  forward  herewith  a  rebel  battle- 
flag  captured  from  Chalmers'  division  yesterday  evening.  The  cap 
ture  was  made  by  Corporal  Harrison  Collins,  Company  A,  First 
Tennessee  Cavalry.  The  corporal  saw  the  rebel  standard-bearer, 
under  the  direction  of  a  rebel  major,  trying  to  rally  his  men.  He 
determined  to  have  the  flag,  led  a  charge,  killed  the  major,  routed 
his  men,  and  secured  the  flag. 

I  am,  Colonel,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  T.  CROXTON, 
Brigadier-General  Commanding. 

During  the  night  the  enemy  retreated  to  Pulaski.    Gen- 


242  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

eral  Forrest  makes  the  following  mention  of  this  engage 
ment  in  his  official  report  of  the  Hood  campaign :  "On  the 
morning  of  the  24th  I  ordered  the  infantry  back  toward 
Pulaski  on  the  main  pike  and  my  cavalry  on  the  right  and 
left  flanks.  After  advancing  about  three  miles  the  enemy 
was  met,  where  a  severe  engagement  occurred  and  the  enemy 
was  held  in  check  for  two  hours.  I  retreated  two  miles, 
where  I  took  position  at  Richland  Creek.  Brigadier-General 
Armstrong  was  thrown  forward  in  front  and  General  Ross 
on  the  right  flank.  Chalmers  and  Buford  formed  a  junction, 
and  were  ordered  on  the  left  flank.  Brigadier-General  Arm 
strong  was  ordered  to  the  support  of  six  pieces  of  my  artil 
lery,  which  were  placed  in  position  immediately  on  the  main 
pike  and  on  a  line  with  Buford's  and  Chalmers'  divisions  and 
Ross'  brigade  of  Jackson's  division.  After  severe  artillery 
firing  on  both  sides,  two  pieces  of  the  enemy's  artillery  were 
dismounted.  The  enemy  then  flanked  to  the  right  and  left 
and  crossed  Richland  Creek  on  my  right,  with  the  view  of 
gaining  my  rear.  I  immediately  ordered  Armstrong  and 
Ross,  of  Jackson's  division,  to  cross  the  bridge  on  the  main 
pike  and  move  around  and  engage  the  enemy,  who  were 
crossing  the  creek.  Both  Buford  and  Chalmers  were  heavily 
pressed  on  the  left,  and  after  an  engagement  of  two  hours 
I  ordered  them  to  fall  back  across  Richland  Creek.  *  *  * 
Brigadier-General  Buford  was  wounded  in  this  engagement, 
and  I  ordered  Brigadier-General  Chalmers  to  assume  com 
mand  of  Brigadier-General  Buford's  division,  together  with 
his  own."  We  had  no  artillery  dismounted,  as  reported  by 
Forrest. 

This  was  our  third  Christmas  eve  spent  around  the 
lonely  camp-fire,  and  which  was  made  memorable  by  the 
day's  struggle  and  the  loss  of  dear  comrades.  The  First 
Tennessee  had  marched  thousands  of  miles  during  the  year, 
and  as  we  gathered  around  the  camp-fire  and  talked  over 
the  year's  work  and  the  great  loss  of  life  during  that  time, 
many  eyes  were  moistened  and  tears  could  be  seen  trickling 
down  the  bronzed  faces  of  these  hardy  veterans.  It  seemed 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  243 

that  there  was  no  rest  for  the  First  Tennessee,  but  we  all 
knew  that  from  the  "rapid  strides"  made  during  the  past 
year  the  end  was  near  at  hand ;  besides,  we  had  almost  de 
stroyed  the  largest  army  in  the  southwest.  About  one  month 
before,  we  were  falling  back  toward  Nashville  before  the 
same  army  we  were  pursuing.  Hood's  veterans,  which  one 
month  before  were  marching  north  with  a  quick  step,  with 
"high  hopes,  good  rations  and  big  pay,"  were  now  fleeing 
south  in  great  confusion,  with  ranks  badly  shattered  and 
broken. 

On  Christmas  morning  Wilson  continued  the  pursuit 
toward  Pulaski,  pressing  the  enemy's  rear  guard  with  un 
usual  vigor  and  audacity,  the  line  of  retreat  still  showing 
signs  of  haste  and  confusion.  Trains,  wagons  and  ammuni 
tion  were  destroyed  to  prevent  capture.  Forrest  was  driven 
rapidly  through  Pulaski,  closely  followed  by  Harrison's  and 
Hammond's  brigades.  The  enemy  were  pursued  so  rapidly 
that  the  bridge  over  Richland  Creek,  a  short  distance  south 
of  Pulaski,  was  saved.  This  was  a  most  fortunate  thing,  as 
it  enabled  Wilson  to  continue  the  pursuit  without  delay. 
Forrest  was  not  permitted  to  rest,  but  was  pushed  south 
faster  than  he  really  wanted  to  go. 

In  Forrest's  hasty  evacuation  of  Pulaski  he  was  com 
pelled  to  destroy  a  locomotive  and  several  cars  loaded  with 
arms  and  ammunition.  He  threw  four  cannon  into  Richland 
Creek.  Wilson  pursued  on,  finding  on  the  wifjj^  abandoned 
artillery,  ammunition  and  baggage-wagons,  guns  and  equip 
ments.  Seven  miles  south  of  Pulaski,  Forrest  was  compelled 
to  make  a  stand  in  order  that  Hood's  wagon  train  might  be 
saved  as  Wilson  had  driven  his  rear  guard  close  upon  it. 
Forrest  took  up  a  position  on  Anthony's  Hill,  which  he  forti 
fied  and  awaited  the  approach  of  Wilson's  cavalry.  This 
position  was  admirably  selected,  being  hidden  from  view  by 
heavy  timber.  The  road  at  this  point  ran  through  a  deep 
ravine  and  along  the  sides  and  at  the  head  Forrest  and 
Walthall  threw  up  works. 

About  2  p.  m.  the  brigades  of  Harrison  and  Hammond, 


244  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

who  were  in  the  advance,  began  skirmishing.  Harrison  dis 
mounted  his  brigade  and  forming  it  in  line  of  battle  moved 
forward  at  once  to  the  attack.  The  enemy  opened  with  ar 
tillery,  but  Hammond's  men  moved  on  toward  the  works. 
And  here,  for  the  first  time  since  the  battle  of  Nashville, 
Walthall's  infantry  sprang  over  the  works  and  drove  back 
Harrison's  men  and  captured  one  gun  of  Smith's  Battery 
I,  Fourth  United  States  Artillery.  Wilson  immediately  or 
dered  up  Croxton's  brigade  and  Hatch's  division  to  the  sup 
port  of  Harrison  and  Hammond.  Croxton,  Hatch  and  Ham 
mond  moved  on  the  flanks,  while  Harrison  renewed  the 
struggle  in  front.  This  move  caused  Forrest  to  abandon  his 
position  in  haste,  leaving  about  fifty  prisoners  in  our  hands. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  P'orrest  withdrew  from  his  position 
and  fell  back  to  Sugar  Creek,  and  during  the  night  built  a 
temporary  line  of  works. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  26th,  the  pursuit  was  con 
tinued,  with  Hammond's  brigade  in  the  advance.  The  line 
of  retreat  still  indicated  haste,  as  the  road  was  lined  with 
abandoned  wagons,  muskets,  equipments  and  stragglers  who- 
had  fallen  out,  some  from  exhaustion,  others  for  the  purpose 
of  being  captured.  To  Hood's  poor,  hungry,  half-clad  and 
down-hearted  soldiers  the  picture  must  have  been  a  sad  one, 
and  the  future  dark,  as  they  toiled  on  with  bowed  heads  and 
decimated  ranks.  Wilson  still  pressed  the  enemy  with  in 
creased  dete&nination  and  untiring  energy,  but  the  resistance 
during  the  morning  was  light.  As  Hammond  approached 
Sugar  Creek  he  encountered  the  advance  of  Ross'  brigade, 
and  after  a  sharp  skirmish  drove  it  back  upon  the  main 
force. 

Hammond  pursued  the  retreating  enemy  to  his  works, 
where  he  was  attacked  by  infantry  and  cavalry  and  driven 
back  some  distance.  Hammond  rallied  his  brigade  and  drove 
the  enemy  back  to  his  works,  holding  the  position  until  the 
arrival  of  the  remainder  of  Wilson's  troops.  In  the  after 
noon  the  enemy's  position  was  shelled  vigorously,  after  which 
they  fell  back  to  Shoal  Creek.  Here  Walthall  formed  his 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  245 

infantry  in  line  to  guard  the  crossing  while  Forrest's  cavalry 
moved  on  to  the  Tennessee  River.  In  the  engagement  at 
Sugar  Creek  the  Second  and  Fourth  Tennessee  Cavalry,  of 
Hammond's  brigade,  sustained  their  already  brilliant  repu 
tation. 

Here  the  pursuit  practically  ended.  Hood,  with  the  ad 
vance  of  his  army,  reached  Bainbridge  on  the  25th,  and  on 
the  26th  laid  his  pontoon  and  began  crossing  his  army.  On 
the  28th,  Walthall's  infantry,  which  had  covered  Hood's  re 
treat  so  well,  crossed  to  the  south  side  and  the  pontoon  was 
taken  up.  Hood  moved  the  remnant  of  his  army  to  Tupelo. 
Mississippi,  by  slow  and  easy  march,  and  on  the  23rd  of 
January,  1865,  at  his  own  request,  was  relieved  of  his  com 
mand.  A  small  force  of  cavalry  under  Colonel  Palmer 
crossed  Tennessee  River  and  overtook  and  destroyed  Hood's 
pontoon  train,  consisting  of  two  hundred  wagons  and 
seventy-eight  pontoon-boats.  Thus  ended  one  of  the  most 
successful  campaigns  of  the  war. 

Let  us  now  turn  and  briefly  read  the  account  of  this 
well-known  retreat  from  the  able  pen  of  Major  D.  W. 
Sanders,  assistant  adjutant-general,  French's  division,  Stew 
art's  corps :  "General  Hood,  in  a  campaign  of  thirty-eight 
days  on  the  north  side  of  the  Tennessee  River,  fought  the 
battles  of  Franklin  and  Nashville  and  wrecked  his  army. 
No  damage  of  any  consequence  had  been  inflicted  upon  the 
enemy.  Thomas,  at  Nashville,  confronted  him  with  a  power 
ful  and  well-appointed  army,  fully  equipped  in  all  the  arms 
of  the  service,  and  when  he  moved  on  him  overwhelmed  and 
routed  him.  At  Columbia,  it  appeared  as  though  Thomas 
would  crush  and  capture  the  army.  The  pursuit  of  his 
mounted  force  under  the  command  of  General  Wilson  was 
fierce  and  relentless.  The  march  of  the  rear  guard  from 
Columbia  to  Bainbridge,  with  the  incessant  assaults  made 
upon  it,  is  the  most  famous  in  the  late  war.  The  courage 
of  this  small  body  of  troops  was  admirable;  the  hardships 
endured  by  them  were  terrible;  and  their  endurance  a  last 
ing  tribute  to  the  devotion  of  the  volunteer  soldier.  Their 


246  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

brigade  commanders  were  men  of  high  and  marked  charac 
ter,  who  had  distinguished  themselves  on  many  fields  in  great 
battles.  The  escape  of  Hood's  army  was  committed  to  their 
valor,  and  on  them  rested  the  hope  of  the  army  to  reach  the 
Tennessee  River  and  to  cross  it  in  safety." 

On  the  3Oth,  General  Thomas  announced  to  his  army 
the  completion  of  the  campaign  and  gave  orders  for  the  dis 
position  of  his  troops.  A  portion  of  Wilson's  cavalry  was 
sent  to  Huntsville,  Alabama,  and  one  division  to  Eastport, 
Mississippi.  Croxton's  brigade  was  ordered  to  Waterloo, 
Alabama. 

This  was  the  last  time  the  old  "Volunteer  State"  was 
invaded  by  the  enemy.  In  Hood's  army  were  thousands  of 
Tennesseans,  a  great  many  of  whom  never  left  the  State  on 
the  retreat.  In  no  battle  of  the  war  were  there  so  many 
Tennessee  troops  engaged  on  the  Union  side  as  at  Nashville. 
The  following  organizations  were  present  and  took  part  in 
that  memorable  struggle:  First,  Second,  Third,  Fourth, 
Sixth,  Tenth  and  Twelfth  Cavalry ;  Third,  Fifth,  Sixth  and 
Eighth  Infantry ;  Batteries  C  and  D,  First  Tennessee  Light 
Artillery. 

In  this  short  campaign  of  only  thirty-eight  days,  Hood 
lost  by  capture  thirteen  thousand,  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine  men,  besides  hundreds  who  slipped  away  and  never  re 
ported  for  duty  again,  and  two  thousand  by  desertion.  He 
lost  seventy-two  pieces  of  artillery,  besides  large  quantities 
of  small  arms,  wagons  and  accoutrements  and  seventy  stands 
of  colors.  If  to  the  desertions  and  prisoners  we  add  his  loss 
in  battle  it  is  safe  to  say  that  not  much  more  than  one-half 
of  his  army  recrossed  the  Tennessee  River. 

General  Thomas  lost  during  the  campaign,  in  all  forms 
of  casualties,  less  than  seven  thousand  men,  and  as  the  most 
of  the  wounds  inflicted  upon  his  troops  were  light,  they  soon 
returned  to  duty.  General  Wilson  reported  his  loss  during 
the  campai-gn  from  all  causes  to  be  nine  hundred  and  two. 
Wilson's  loss  is  included  in  General  Thomas's  report. 

Hood's  army  was  completely  wrecked  and  demoralized 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  247 

and  no  damage  of  any  consequence  had  been  inflicted  upon 
the  Union  army.  Thomas's  army  had  been  hastily  gathered 
together  from  different  points  to  meet  Hood's  invasion,  but 
demonstrated  the  fact  that  the  unyielding  patriotism  of  the 
Western  men,  under  such  a  leader  as  Thomas,  could  not  be 
doubted,  and  probably  no  army  was  ever  more  skilfully 
handled.  Thomas  had  manifested  his  military  ability  early 
in  1 86 1 -2,  and  for  the  first  time  during  the  war  was  so  large 
a  Confederate  army  destroyed  on  the  field  of  battle  and  on  its 
retreat.  The  battles  of  Franklin  and  Nashville  rank  with 
those  of  Shiloh,  Stone  River  and  Chickamauga,  and  one 
remarkable  feature  is  the  small  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and 
captured  on  the  Union  side.  There  seems  to  be  but  one 
way  to  account  for  it,  and  that  is  the  skilful  manner  in  which 
Thomas  handled  his  troops. 

The  following  dispatches  will  show  the  estimation  in 
which  General  Thomas  and  his  brave  soldiers  were  held  by 
the  ruler  of  a  great  nation : 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND, 

Near  Nashville,  Term.,  December  16,  1864. 
GENERAL  ORDERS  No.  167. 

The  Major-General  commanding,  with  pride  and  pleasure,  pub 
lishes  the  following  dispatches  to  the  army,  and  adds  thereto  his  own 
thanks  to  the  troops  for  the  unsurpassed  gallantry  and  good  conduct 
displayed  by  them  in  the  battles  of  yesterday  and  to-day.  A  few 
more  examples  of  devotion  and  courage  like  these,  and  the  rebel 
army  of  the  West,  which  you  have  been  fighting  for  three  years,  will 
be  no  more,  and  you  may  reasonably  expect  an  early  and  honorable 
peace : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  15,  1864 — 11:30  A.  M. 
MAJOR-GENERAL  THOMAS  : 

Please  accept  for  yourself,  officers  and  men  the  Nation's  thanks 
for  your  good  work  of  yesterday.  You  made  a  magnificent  begin 
ning.  A  grand  consummation  is  within  your  easy  reach;  do  not  let 
it  slip.  A.  LINCOLN. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  15,  1864— Midnight. 
MAJOR- GENERAL  THOMAS: 

I  rejoice  in  tendering  to  you  and  the  gallant  officers  and  soldiers 
of  your  cQmmand  the  thanks  of  the  Department  for  the  brilliant 
achievements  of  this  day,  and  hope  that  it  is  the  harbinger  of  a 


248  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

decisive  victory,  and  will  crown  you  and  your  army  with  honor  and 
do  much  toward  closing  the  war.  We  shall  give  you  an  hundred 
guns  in  the  morning. 

EDWIN  M.  STANTON,  Secretary  of  War. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  15,  1864. — 11:45  P.  M. 
MAJOR-GENERAL  THOMAS  : 

Your  dispatch  of  this  evening  just  received.  I  congratulate 
you  and  the  army  under  your  command  for  to-day's  operations,  and 
feel  a  conviction  that  to-morrow  will  add  more  fruits  to  your 
victory.  U.  S.  GRANT, 

Lieutenant-General. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT.  ADJUTANT- GENERALS  OFFICE, 

Washington,  March  n,  1865. 
GENERAL  ORDERS  No.  33. 

The  following  resolution  is  published  for  the  information  of  all 
concerned : 

PUBLIC  RESOLUTION — NO.  24. 

Joint  Resolution  of  Thanks  to  Major-General  George  H.  Thomas 
and  the  army  under  his  command. 

BE  IT  RESOLVED  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the 
thanks  of  Congress  are  due,  and  are  hereby  tendered,  to  Major- 
General  George  H.  Thomas  and  the  officers  and  soldiers  under  his 
command,  for  their  skill  and  dauntless  courage  by  which  the  rebel 
army  under  General  Hood  was  signally  defeated  and  driven  from 
the  State  of  Tennessee. 

Approved  March  3,  1865. 

By  order  of  Secretary  of  War. 

E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 
Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND, 

Pulaski,  Tenn.,  December  29,  1864. 
GENERAL  ORDERS  No.  169. 

SOLDIERS:  The  Major-General  commanding  announces  to  you 
that  the  rear  guard  of  the  flying  and  dispirited  enemy  was  driven 
across  the  Tennessee  River  on  the  night  of  the  27th  instant  The 
impassable  state  of  the  roads  and  consequent  impossibility  to  supply 
the  army  compels  a  closing  of  the  campaign  for  the  present.  Al 
though  short,  it  has  been  brilliant  in  its  achievements  and  unsur 
passed  in  its  results  by  any  other  of  this  war,  and  is  one  of  which 
all  who  participated  therein  may  be  justly  proud.  That  veteran  rebel 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  249 

army  which,  though  driven  from  position  to  position,  opposed  a  stub 
born  resistance  to  much  superior  numbers  during  the  whole  of  the 
Atlanta  campaign,  taking  advantage  of  the  absence  of  the  largest  por 
tion  of  the  army  which  had  been  opposed  to  it  in  Georgia,  invaded 
Tennessee,  buoyant  with  hope,  expecting  Nashville,  Murfreesboro, 
and  the  whole  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  to  fall  into  its  power  an 
easy  prey,  and  scarcely  fixing  a  limit  to  its  conquests,  after  having 
received  the  most  terrible  check  at  Franklin  on  the  3Oth  of  Novem 
ber  that  any  army  has  received  during  this  war,  and  later  met  with 
signal  repulse  from  the  brave  garrison  of  Murfreesboro  in  its  at 
tempt  to  capture  that  place,  was  finally  attacked  at  Nashville,  and 
although  your  forces  were  inferior  to  it  in  numbers,  it  was  hurled 
back  from  the  coveted  prize  upon  which  it  had  only  been  permitted 
to  look  from  a  distance,  and  finally  sent  flying,  dismayed  and  dis- 
•  ordered,  whence  it  came,  impelled  by  the  instinct  of  self-preservation, 
and  thinking  only  how  it  could  relieve  itself  for  short  intervals  from 
your  persistent  and  harrassing  pursuit,  by  burning  the  bridges  over 
the  swollen  streams  as  it  passed  them,  until  finally  it  had  placed  the 
broad  waters  of  the  Tennessee  River  between  you  and  its  shattered, 
diminished  and  discomfited  columns,  leaving  its  artillery  and  battle- 
flags  in  your  victorious  hands,  lasting  trophies  of  your  noble  daring 
and  lasting  mementoes  of  the  enemy's  disgrace  and  defeat. 

You  have  diminished  the  forces  of  the  rebel  army,  since  it 
crossed  the  Tennessee  River  to  invade  the  State,  at  the  least  estimate, 
15,000  men,  among  whom  were  killed,  wounded  or  captured  eighteen 
general  officers  Your  captures  from  the  enemy,  as  far  as  reported, 
amount  to  sixty-eight  pieces  of  artillery,  10,000  prisoners,  as  many 
stands  of  small  arms,  several  thousand  of  which  have  been  gathered 
in  and  the  remainder  strew  the  route  of  the  enemy's  retreat,  and 
between  thirty  and  forty  flags,  besides  compelling  him  to  destroy 
much  ammunition  and  abandon  many  wagons,  and  unless  he  is  mad, 
he  must  forever  relinquish  all  hope  of  bringing  Tennessee  again 
within  the  lines  of  the  accursed  rebellion.  A  short  time  will  now  be 
given  you  to  prepare  to  continue  the  work  so  nobly  begun. 

By  command  of  Major-General  THOMAS. 

WM.  D.  WHIPPI^, 
Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

BLUE  WATER,  December  30,  1864. 
SPECIAL  FIELD  ORDERS  No.  16. 

It  gives  the  brevet  major-general  great  pleasure  to  transmit 
the  following  complimentary  notice  of  the  operations  of  the  cavalry 
corps,  and  to  assure  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  his  command  that 
he  fully  endorses  the  declaration  of  Major-General  Thomas: 


250  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND, 

Pulaski,  Tenn.,  December  29,  1864. 
MAJOR-GENERAL  J.  H.  WILSON,  Commanding  Cavalry  Corps, 

Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi : 

GENERAL:  The  major-general  commanding  tenders  his  thanks 
to  yourself,  officers  and  men  for  the  vigor,  skill,  bravery  and  endur 
ance  displayed  by  your  corps  in  this  long  and  toilsome  pursuit  of  the 
retreating  rebel  army 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  D.  WHIFFLE, 

Brigadier-General  and  Chief  of  Staff. 
By  order  of  Brevet  Major-General  WILSON  : 

E.  B.  BEAUMONT, 
Major  and  Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

General  Wilson's  cavalry  captured  during  the  campaign 
eighty-six  officers  and  three  thousand,  one  hundred  and 
forty-nine  enlisted  men,  twelve  flags,  seventeen  pieces  of  ar 
tillery  and  eleven  caissons,  two  thousand,  three  hundred  and 
eighty-six  small  arms,  three  locomotives,  one  hundred  and 
eighty-four  wagons,  eight  ambulances,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  pontoon  wagons  and  seventy-eight  boats,  and 
one  thousand,  three  hundred  and  forty-eight  mules  and 
horses. 

When  the  pursuit  ended,  General  Thomas  gave  orders 
for  his  army  to  build  winter  quarters.  This  was  something 
new  to  the  First  Tennessee,  and  the  boys  went  about  the 
work  with  a  will  and  soon  had  their  "log  cabins"  ready  for 
the  plasterers.  This  was  the  only  time  during  our  service 
that  such  an  opportunity  had  been  given  us  to  build  com 
fortable  quarters.  We  were  beginning  to  congratulate  our 
selves  on  the  solid  comfort  that  we  expected  to  get  out  of 
our  cabins  and  the  great  improvement  over  the  "dog-tent" 
when  orders  came  to  move.  General  Grant  issued  an  order 
for  the  renewal  of  the  campaign  against  the  enemy. 

After  a  rest  of  two  weeks  the  First  Tennessee  left  its 
splendid  quarters  at  Waterloo  and  plunged  into  the  swamps 
of  Mississippi  with  the  remainder  of  the  brigade.  Croxton 
crossed  the  Tennessee  River  without  opposition  and  moved 


VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  251 

through  Eastport,  then,  turning  southwest,  marched  his  bri 
gade  to  luka,  on  the  Memphis  &  Charleston  Railroad.  From 
this  place  Croxton  marched  his  command  on  through  Burns- 
ville  to  Corinth,  skirmishing  lightly  on  the  way  and  picking 
up  a  few  prisoners. 

luka  and  Corinth  had  both  been  made  historic  by  the 
desperate  fighting  between  the  forces  of  Grant,  Van  Dorn 
and  Price  in  September  and  October,  1862.  There  was 
ample  evidence  that  contending  armies  had  struggled  in  and 
around  these  old  Mississippi  towns.  The  engagement  at 
Corinth  was  exceedingly  fierce  and  bloody.  It  was  in  this 
fierce  and  sanguinary  struggle  that  the  gallant  and  intrepid 
soldier,  General  A.  P.  Hackleman,  was  killed  and  General 
R.  J.  Oglesby  severely  wounded  on  the  Union  side,  while 
the  brave  General  Rogers,  leading  his  Texas  brigade,  fell  in 
front  of  Battery  Robinette.  At  luka,  General  Little  was 
killed  and  General  Whitfield  wounded  on  the  enemy's  side. 

From  Corinth  Croxton  moved  east  to  Farmington  and 
after  a  short  rest  marched  back  to  luka.  This  part  of  Mis 
sissippi  is  exceedingly  low  and  fiat  and  during  dry  weather 
is  very  nice,  but  when  thoroughly  wet  by  protracted  rains 
might  very  properly  be  denominated  a  swamp.  But  the  soil 
is  as  easily  affected  by  the  drought  as  by  rains.  Corinth  is 
built  upon  low  land  and  is  situated  at  the  junction  of  the 
Memphis  &  Charleston  and  the  Mobile  &  Ohio  Railroads. 

After  resting  for  one  day  at  luka,  Croxton  moved  his 
brigade  back  through  Eastport  to  the  old  camp-ground  at 
Waterloo,  Alabama,  where  it  remained  for  a  month. 

"We're  tenting  to-night  on  the  old  camp-ground, 

Give  us  a  song  to  cheer 
Our  weary  hearts — a  song  of  home 

And  friends  we  love  so  dear! 
Many  are  the  hearts  that  are  weary  to-night, 

Wishing  for  the  war  to  cease; 
Many  are  the  hearts  looking  for  the  right, 
To  see  the  dawn  of  peace. 

Tenting  to-night,  tenting  to-night, 
Tenting  on  the  old  camp-ground." 


252  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

This  movement  of  Croxton's  brigade  into  Mississippi 
was  for  the  purpose  of  watching  the  movements  of  Hood 
and  finding  out  the  route  his  retreating  army  had  taken. 
From  this  place  numerous  scouts  were  made  in  all  directions. 
The  last  man  wounded  in  the  First  Tennessee  was  James 
H.  Blakely,  private  Company  A,  who  was  shot  by  "bush 
whackers"  on  one  of  these  scouts,  February,  1865. 

The  last  of  January  the  Second  and  Third  Brigades  of 
McCook's  division  arrived  at  our  camp  at  Waterloo.  These 
brigades,  by  order  of  General  Wilson,  left  Nashville  on  the 
nth  day  of  December,  1864,  for  the  purpose  of  checking 
General  Lyon,  who  was  reported  to  be  moving  on  the  Louis 
ville  &  Nashville  Railroad.  After  doing  considerable  dam 
age,  he  was  driven  out  of  Kentucky  with  a  loss  of  three- 
fourths  of  his  command.  By  order  of  General  Wilson,  the 
Third  Brigade,  commanded  by  General  Watkins,  was  broken 
up,  the  Sixth  Kentucky  Cavalry  being  assigned  to  Croxton's 
brigade  and  the  Fourth  and  Seventh  Kentucky  to  La 
Grange's  brigade. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  253 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

RELIEVED  AT  THE  FRONT — ORDERED  TO  NASHVILLE — THE  SUR 
RENDER  OF  LEE — GREAT  REJOICING  IN  CAMP — THE  WAR 
ENDED — PREPARING  FOR  MUSTER-OUT. 

While  at  this  camp  the  First  Tennessee  was  relieved  of 
duty  at  the  front  and  ordered  to  Nashville  to  be  mustered 
out.  Here  ended  the  military  service  of  this  gallant  body 
of  men,  whose  dead  lie  scattered  over  seven  different  States, 
in  which  they  rendered  distinguished  service.  The  First 
Tennessee  during  its  three  years'  service  marched  over  four 
teen  thousand  miles,  which,  together  with  its  large  death- 
roll  and  its  "staying  qualities1'  in  battle,  made  it  a  noted 
regiment  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  where  it  per 
formed  the  greater  part  of  its  service.  The  battles,  marches, 
picket  and  camp  duty,  the  shouts  of  victory  on  fields  of  car 
nage,  were  about  to  end ;  we  were  soon  to  part  from,  and 
"bid  adieu"  to  our  comrades  of  the  old  First  Brigade,  com 
posed  of  the  Second  Michigan,  Eighth  Iowa,  Fourth  Ken 
tucky,  who  had  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  on  a  score  of 
battlefields  where  shot  and  shell  and  the  "ever  zipping  minie" 
had  decimated  their  ranks. 

As  a  regiment  it  had  never  disgraced  the  flags  it  bore 
or  the  cause  it  loved  and  had  battled  for  during  three  terrible 
years  of  carnage  and  bloodshed.  We  make  a  modest  claim, 
and  that,  too,  without  being  called  egotistical,  that  we  did  our 
whole  duty,  and  as  members  of  a  fighting  regiment  helped 
to  sustain  the  already  brilliant  reputation  of  the  old  "Volun 
teer  State."  The  splendid  record  made  by  Tennessee's  noble 
and  patriotic  sons  in  the  early  wars  was  hardly  equalled  in 
any  age.  We  find  these  hardy  pioneer  riflemen  fighting  in 
the  ranks  of  Sevier  and  Shelby  at  King's  Mountain,  under 


254  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Jackson  and  Coffee  at  the  battle  of  the  Horseshoe,  and  at 
New  Orleans,  where  Sir  Edward  Packenham  was  slain  and 
his  splendid  and  well-equipped  army  routed  and  driven  from 
the  field  by  the  unerring  aim  of  the  Tennessee  riflemen. 

Later  on,  we  find  the  sons  of  the  old  "Volunteer  State" 
springing  to  arms  in  numbers  much  greater  than  her  quota 
and  following  the  old  flag  across  the  burning  sands  of 
Mexico  to  lead  the  assaulting  columns  at  Monterey  and 
Cerro  Gordo.  In  the  late  war  we  find  these  same  loyal  sons 
of  East  Tennessee  marching  forth  to  battle  under  the  old 
flag,  and  by  their  valor  have  added  lustre  to  the  escutcheon 
of  the  "Volunteer  State." 

Before  leaving  Waterloo  the  officers  and  enlisted  men 
of  the  regiment  presented  General  John  T.  Croxton,  their 
brigade  commander,  with  a  handsome  sword,  properly  en 
graved,  as  a  slight  token  of  th,e  confidence  and  estimation 
they  placed  upon  him  as  their  commander,  whether  it  was 
upon  the  field  of  battle,  on  the  march  or  in  camp.  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Dyer  marched  the  regiment  to  General  Crox- 
ton's  headquarters  and  formed  it  in  line  in  front  of  his  tent. 
The  General,  mistrusting  that  something  "unusual"  was  up, 
came  forward  and  greeted  us,  after  which  the  boys  gave  him 
three  rousing  cheers.  Rev.  John  P.  Holtsinger,  chaplain  of 
the  First  Tennessee,  then  stepped  forward  and  on  behalf  of 
the  officers  and  men  of  the  regiment  presented  the  sword 
to  the  General.  His  address  was  as  follows : 

GENERAL  :  I  have  been  selected  and  solicited  by  the  officers  and 
men  of  my  regiment  to  perform  the  very  honorable  and  agreeable 
duty  of  presenting  to  you  this  sword,  which  I  hope  you  will  receive 
as  evidence  of  the  favorable  opinion  which  your  meritorious  military 
conduct  has  induced  us  to  form  of  you  since  it  has  been  our  good 
fortune  to  be  placed  under  your  command.  I  have  been  appointed 
and  urged  to  the  performance  of  this  duty  from  no  other  considera 
tion  than  that  I  am  an  old  man. 

When  first  you  received  us  into  your  brigade  and  assumed 
command  of  us.  our  forms  and  features  were  strange  to  each  other, 
bearing  no  marks  of  familiarity  except  the  uniforms  of  the  great 
Union  army.  Allow  me  to  assure  you  that  your  fame  as  a  warrior 
had  reached  us  long  before  we  met  and  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  255 

in  opposition  to  the  enemies  of  our  government.  We  had  heard  of 
your  valuable  service  and  meritorious  management  on  various  battle 
fields,  where  the  earth  was  made  crimson  with  the  blood  of  the  slain ; 
and  we  were  not  only  satisfied,  but  we  were  proud  and  felt  honored 
to  have  you  for  our  brigade  commander,  either  in  camp  or  on  the 
field  of  conflict. 

Since  we  formed  a  part  of  your  command,  our  lot  has  been 
almost  constantly  cast  in  the  immediate  front  of  a  powerful  foe,  and 
I  only  represent  and  reiterate  the  honest  expression  of  my  regiment 
when  I  declare  that  you  have  at  all  times,  even  on  occasions  the  most 
critical,  given  ample  satisfaction  both  to  officers  and  men.  Our  pro 
tracted  association  and  military  relationships  have  been  of  that 
friendly  character  which  imparts  success  and  honor  to  comrades  con 
tending  for  the  same  and  great  glorious  cause.  It  is  with  feelings  of 
profound  regret  that  we  part  from  friends  and  army  associates  with 
whom  we  have  mutually  struggled  on  many  battlefields  for  liberty — 
the  richest  boon  on  earth. 

We  finally  leave  this  sword  with  you,  which,  judging  from  the 
past,  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  you  will  wield  in  a  way  that 
will  do  honor  to  yourself  and  the  good  and  great  government  for 
which  you  are  gallantly  contending. 

To  this  General  Croxton  replied  as  follows : 

SOLDIERS  AND  FRIENDS  OF  FREEDOM  :  I  accept  and  receive  this 
sword  as  a  token  of  the  satisfaction  which  I  have  been  able  to  impart 
to  the  magnanimous  soldiers  whom  it  has  given  me  pleasure,  as  well 
as  reputation,  to  command.  The  scenes  and  sufferings,  privations 
and  perils,  through  which  you  passed  in  the  early  days  of  the  rebellion 
are  known  to  me,  and  my  sympathies  have  long  since  been  enlisted  in 
your  favor,  while  I  have  truly  sorrowed  on  account  of  your  condi 
tion  and  the  condition  of  your  friends  at  home.  The  oppression  of 
the  Union  people  of  East  Tennessee  has  been  to  me  a  source  of  sor 
row.  I  am  better  prepared  to  understand  your  sufferings  because  in 
Kentucky,  the  place  of  my  residence,  the  Union  party  encountered  op 
pression  and  abuse  in  common  with  their  Union  friends  in  East 
Tennessee.  It  was  neither  inclination  nor  ambition  for  military 
renown  that  induced  me  to  enter  the  service,  but  principle,  which 
should  at  all  times  control  ambition  and  inclination,  led  me  into  the 
path  of  the  warrior  when  the  great  struggle  was  brought  about  by 
rebels  for  the  overthrow  of  our  government. 

The  regiment  with  which  I  first  served,  and  which  I  had  the 
honor  to  command,  was  the  first  to  pitch  tents  and  establish  a 
Federal  camp  south  of  the  Ohio  River.  Kentucky,  like  Tennessee, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  war,  was  overrun  and  abused  by  rebels ;  and 


256  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Kentuckians  were  compelled,  at  an  early  day  of  the  war,  to  choose 
their  principles  and  act  accordingly.  It  is  with  deep  regret  that  I 
witness  your  withdrawal  and  departure  from  my  command.  Under 
standing  as  I  do  the  honorable  and  upright  course  which  you  have 
taken  since  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion,  I  cannot  hesitate  to  ex 
press  my  conviction  that  you  will  continue  to  oppose  the  enemies  of 
union  and  freedom  until  law  and  order  are  restored  throughout  our 
broad  land.  I  am  gratified  to  believe  that  you  will  not  divest  your 
selves  of  the  Federal  uniform  and  the  weapons  of  war  until  secession 
is  not  known  in  our  land  except  in  history. 

Soldiers,  you  will  long  be  remembered  and  respected  by  me  for 
your  unhesitating  obedience  and  unmurmuring  endurance,  both  in 
camp  and  on  the  field  of  action.  Long  may  you  live  to  enjoy  the 
liberty  for  which  you  have  nobly  fought  and  realize  the  fruits  of  the 
perilous  labors  which  you  have  performed. 

On  the  loth  day  of  February,  1865,  the  First  Tennessee 
embarked  on  government  transports  at  Eastport,  Mississippi, 
for  Nashville.  The  most  of  the  men  took  hurricane  and 
boiler-deck  passage  on  the  transports.  Company  C — the 
writer's  company — with  others,  was  on  the  Westmoreland,  a 
large  side-wheel  steamer.  As  the  transports  swung  off  and 
began  moving  down  the  beautiful  Tennessee  cheer  after 
cheer  went  up  in  answer  to  those  given  by  the  boys  of  the 
old  brigade. 

On  our  way  to  Nashville  we  met  a  great  many  heavily 
loaded  transports,  accompanied  by  gunboats,  on  their  way 
to  Eastport  with  supplies  for  the  army,  'which  was  then  being 
concentrated  at  that  point.  These  transports  and  the  dark- 
looking  gunboats  were  puffing  and  plowing  up  the  water, 
while  great  clouds  of  black  smoke  rose  from  their  huge 
stacks. 

We  passed  on  this  trip  Shiloh,  or  Pittsburg  Landing, 
Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  all  of  which  have  already  passed 
into  history,  but  were  pleasant  and  interesting  sights  to  us. 
In  passing  these  historic  places  no  sound  of  the  hostile  can 
non  or  the  shouts  of  the  charging  troops  could  be  heard. 
After  a  short  run  we  entered  Tennessee  and  soon  reached 
Shiloh.  Here,  on  that  bright  Sabbath  morning  of  Arpil  6, 
1862,  General  Grant  was  aroused  from  his  sleep  by  the  boom 


VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  257 

of  cannon.  Along  the  banks  of  the  Tennessee  the  Union 
army  under  Grant  and  the  Confederates  under  A.  S.  John 
son  met  in  deadly  conflict.  In  the  first  day's  battle  John 
son  was  slain  and  Grant's  army  driven  back  to  the  banks  of 
the  river,  where  during  the  night  the  gunboats  Tyler  and 
Lexington  dropped  24-pound  shells  into  the  enemy's  line. 
On  the  morning  of  the  7th,  Beauregard,  who  succeeded 
Johnson,  was  routed  and  driven  from  the  field  toward 
Corinth. 

After  passing  Shiloh  the  Tennessee  River  turns  almost 
due  north  and  at  Fort  Henry  leaves  Tennessee  and  enters 
the  State  of  Kentucky.  On  the  5th  day  of  February,  1862, 
this  fort  was  captured  by  Commodore  Foote,  who  com 
manded  the  small  fleet  of  gunboats  of  Grant's  army.  The 
fort  was  commanded  by  General  Tilgham,  and  after  one 
hour's  bombardment  he  was  forced  to  surrender. 

We  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee  river  at  Padu- 
cah  without  accident,  and  after  a  short  stay  the  transports 
carrying  the  regiment  turned  up  the  Ohio  River.  At  Smith- 
land  the  boats  entered  the  Cumberland  River  and  steamed 
away  up  the  placid  stream,  while  the  black  smoke  floated 
lazily  from  the  tops  of  the  stacks.  Just  before  reaching  Fort 
Donelson  we  left  Kentucky  and  again  entered  Tennessee. 
The  mouths  of  the  Tennessee  and  Cumberland  Rivers  are 
only  twelve  miles  apart,  and  where  they  enter  Tennessee  at 
Fort  Henry  are  only  about  eight  miles  apart.  It  is  rather 
singular  that  two  rivers  so  large  should  run  such  a  long 
distance  almost  parallel  and  so  close  together. 

On  rounding  a  bend  in  Cumberland  River  below  Fort 
Donelson  we  caught  sight  of  the  "old  flag"  and  the  fort. 
This  was  the  place  where  Grant  won  his  first  important 
victory  in  the  west,  compelling  Buckner  to  surrender  on  the 
1 6th  day  of  February,  1862. 

The  weather  was  good  for  that  season  of  the  year,  and 
the  scenery  along  the  route  was  truly  grand.  In  fact,  it  was 
beyond  the  power  of  pen  to  describe  or  painter  to  portray. 
At  the  mouth  of  Harpeth  River  the  transports  encountered 


258  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

the  famous  Harpeth  Shoals.  The  Cumberland  River  is  very 
shallow  at  this  point  and  during  extreme  drouths  it  puzzles 
the  most  skillful  pilot  to  take  his  vessel  safely  across  the 
shoals. 

After  several  days  were  spent  in  this  manner  of  travel 
ing,  the  First  Tennessee  reached  the  capital  of  its  own  State 
without  accident  and  went  into  camp  at  Edgefield,  on  the 
Gallalin  turnpike.  This  was  the  fourth  time  the  regiment 
had  marched  through  the  streets  of  Nashville.  Two  months 
before,  the  thunder  of  artillery  and  the  rattle  of  musketry 
was  heard  in  Nashville — now,  all  was  quiet  and  the  only 
real  signs  of  war  were  the  guards  moving  about  in  the  dis 
charge  of  duty  and  the  various  regiments  passing  through 
on  their  way  home  to  be  mustered  out.  The  officers  were 
kept  busy  closing  up  their  accounts,  making  up  muster-out 
rolls  and  getting  ready  for  the  final  discharge. 

We  were  given  a  great  deal  of  liberty  while  in  Nash 
ville;  in  fact,  the  "freedom  of  the  city"  was  given  us.  The 
guard  at  the  bridge  would  not  look  near  so  long  at  our 
passes  or  ask  so  many  "foolish"  questions  as  on  former  oc 
casions.  There  was  some  little  delay  in  the  muster-out  of  the 
regiment,  but  in  a  few  days  that  duty  was  performed  by 
Captain  P.  W.  Neil,  Eighteenth  United  States  Infantry. 

The  regiment  was  still  in  Nashville  when  Lee  sur 
rendered.  The  9th  of  April  wras  a  proud  and  memorable 
day.  The  news  of  the  surrender  of  Lee's  army  was  flashed 
over  the  wires  and  a  salute  of  two  hundred  guns  was  or 
dered  to  be  fired  by  E.  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War,  at  all 
posts,  headquarters  of  the  army,  arsenals  and  at  West  Point. 
Everything  in  Nashville  was  in  an  uproar,  and  the  soldiers 
were  wild  with  excitement.  Bands  were  playing,  soldiers 
cheering  and  artillery  booming.  It  was  a  regular  Fourth  of 
July  celebration  on  a  high  order.  Men  who  were  never 
known  to  smile  now  iaughed ;  those  who  were  always  quiet 
in  camp  were  heard  to  shout,  and  those  who  were  never 
known  to  take  a  drink  of  commissary  whiskey  actually  got 
drunk,  and  in  the  language  of  our  own  Davy  Crockett  said, 
"Let's  take  another  drink." 


VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  259 

The  guns  on  Capitol  Hill  and  in  the  forts  at  Nashville 
belched  forth  this  glorious  news,  and  we  all  felt  that  the 
war  was  almost  at  an  end  and  soon  peace  would  once  more 
return  and  witness  a  united  country  again.  The  greater 
part  of  the  men  composing  the  regiment  enlisted  in  March 
and  April,  1862,  and  on  the  muster-out  of  those  who  en 
listed  first,  the  remainder  were  reorganized  and  remained 
on  duty  in  Nashville  until  mustered  out  June  14,  1865.  The 
reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  there  was  great  irregularity  in 
the  enlistment  of  the  Tennessee  soldiers,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  escape  from  rebel  terri 
tory  only  as  opportunity  and  favorable  circumstances  pre 
sented  themselves ;  therefore  the  expiration  of  their  enlist 
ment  varied  and  differed  accordingly. 

This  reorganization  afforded  an  opportunity  for  several 
worthy  promotions.  Major  R.  Thornburgh,  of  the  First 
Battalion,  being  the  senior  officer  left,  was  promoted  to 
Lieutenant-Colonel ;  Captain  E.  J.  Colville,  Company  L,  was 
promoted  to  Major;  David  Shaw,  sergeant  Company  G,  was 
promoted  to  First  Lieutenant  in  the  same  company ;  Newton 
T.  Beal,  private  of  Company  E,  was  promoted  to  Second 
Lieutenant  in  Company  G.  Several  worthy  promotions  were 
made  among  the  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates,  but 
the  writer  has  been  unable  to  obtain  a  list  and  make  honor 
able  mention  of  the  same. 

The  First  Tennessee  performed  the  greater  part  of  its 
service  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  although  t^is 
army  was  greatly  scattered  when  the  great  struggle  ended, 
yet  its  heroic  achievements  still  live  and  its  dead  are  honored 
by  a  loving  people.  The  Army  of  the  Cumberland  was  un 
surpassed  for  bravery,  and  the  gallant  record  made  by  it 
was  one  that  was  not  excelled  during  the  Civil  War.  It 
furnished  a  little  more,  than  half  the  troops  for  the  Atlanta 
campaign.  It  was  well  represented  in  Sherman's  grand 
march  to  the  sea,  and  fought  alone  the  battles  of  Mill 
Springs,  Perryville,  Stone  River  and  Chickamauga. 

It  gave  aid  to  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  at  Fort  Don- 


260  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

elson  and  Pittsburg  Landing,  or  Shiloh.  We  find  it  again- 
dividing  the  glory  of  Franklin  with  the  Army  of  the  Ohio 
and  at  Nashville  with  the  Armies  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Ten 
nessee.  It  also  helped  win  Missionary  Ridge  and  Lookout 
Mountain.  In  Wilson's  great  "rush"  through  Mississippi, 
Alabama  and  Georgia,  we  find  representatives  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland.  Upon  its  banners  were  inscribed  the 
names  of  scores  of  historic  fields. 

The  only  field  this  army  ever  gave  to  the  enemy  in  its 
unity  was  bloody  Chickamauga,  and  then  the  enemy  was  so 
severely  punished  that  the  pursuit  was  weak  and  made  with 
out  energy.  Notwithstanding  the  great  loss  of  life  in  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland  its  ranks  were  kept  filled,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  great  struggle  it  is  safe  to  say  that  it  num 
bered  at  least  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  thousand  men,  who 
were  now  to  return  home  and  resume  the  pursuits  of  civil 
life. 

The  final  report  of  the  Adjutant-General's  office  from 
1 86 1  to  1866  shows  a  total  loss  in  the  Union  army,  from  all 
causes,  to  be  three  hundred  and  thirteen  thousand  men. 
Tennessee  lost  in  the  same  period  and  from  all  causes,  six 
thousand,  seven  hundred  and  seventy-seven  men.  Of  this 
number  seven  hundred  and  forty-four  were  killed  or  died 
of  wounds.  Five  thousand,  one  hundred  and  ninety-two 
died  of  disease.  In  this  list  the  twelve  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  that  died  in  prison  are  included.  Three  hundred  and 
seven  were  drowned.  From  other  causes,  such  as  murdered, 
killed  after  capture,  suicide,  etc.,  four  hundred  and  ninety. 
The  Second  Tennessee  Infantry  lost  more  men  in  prison 
than  any  regiment  in  the  United  States  service.  This  gal 
lant  regiment  \vas  captured  at  Rogersville,  Tennessee,  No 
vember  6,  1863. 

The  total  enrollment  of  the  First  Tennessee  during  its 
term  of  service,  from  the  best  and  most  reliable  source,  was 
fourteen  hundred  and  ninety-three  men.  The  regiment  lost 
in  killed  and  died  of  wounds  and  disease,  three  hundred  and 
thirty-three  men.  Those  that  died  in  prison  are  included 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  261 

in  this  list.  Three  men  from  Tennessee  committed  suicide 
during  the  war  and  one  of  this  number  was  from  the  First 
Tennessee.  The  most  frequent  causes  for  discharge  from 
the  army  wTere  gunshot  wounds,  consumption,  diarrhea  and 
typhoid  fever.  The  largest  number  of  deaths  from  disease 
in  the  army  occurred  from  chronic  diarrhea  and  fever.  The 
First  Tennessee  lost  more  men  from  fever  than  any  other 
disease.  During  the  war  there  were  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  battles  fought  in  Tennessee, — Virginia  alone  exceed 
ing  the  "Volunteer  State." 

The  seven  National  Cemeteries  located  in  Tennessee 
contain  the  remains  of  fifty-seven  thousand  and  five  of  the 
Union  dead  who  gave  up  their  lives  in  order  that  this  great 
and  growing  country  might  remain  undivided.  The  largest 
cemetery  in  Tennessee  is  located  at  Nashville.  The  re 
mainder  are  given  in  the  order  as  to  the  number  of  inter 
ments  in  each:  Memphis,  Chattanooga,  Stone  River,  Pitts- 
burg  Landing,  Knoxville  and  Fort  Donelson.  Their  graves 
are  kept  green  at  the  expense  of  the  government  they  helped 
to  save,  and  their  surviving  comrades  and  friends  on  each 
3Oth  of  May  perform  a  loving  and  patriotic  duty  by  re 
counting  what  they  did  in  song  and  story  and  the  placing  of 
flags  and  Mowers  upon  their  graves.  The  dead  of  the  First 
Tennessee  lie  buried  in  all  of  the  cemeteries  of  their  native 
State,  with  the  exceptions  of  Pittsburg  Landing  and  Fort 
Donelson. 

'The  First  Tennessee  met  the  enemy  at  the  following 
places:  Cumberland  Gap,  June  18,  1862;  Rigg's  Cross 
Roads,  Term.,  April  16,  1863 ;  College  Grove,  Term.,  May  8, 
1863 ;  Rover,  Term.,  June  23,  1863 ;  Middletown,  Tenn., 
June  24,  1863;  Shelbyville,  Tenn.,  June  27,  1863;  Lafayette, 
Ga.,  Sept.  13,  1863;  Chickamauga,  Ga.,  Sept.  19  and  20, 
1863 ;  Sparta,  Tenn.,  Nov.  30,  1863  J  Dandridge,  Tenn.,  Dec. 
24,  1863 ;  Mossy  Creek,  Tenn.,  Dec.  29,  1863 »  Fairgarden, 
Tenn.,  Jan.  27,  1864;  Varnell's  Station,  Ga.,  May  9,  1864; 
Resaca,  Ga.,  May  14,  1864;  Burnt  Hickory,  Ga.,  May  26, 
1864;  Brownlow's  Hill,  or  Acworth,  Ga.,  June  4,  1864; 


262  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Lost  Mountain,  Ga.,  June  16,  1864;  Mason's  Church,  Ga., 
July  23,  1864;  Lovejoy's  Station,  Ga.,  July  29,  1864;  New- 
nan,  Ga.,  July  31,  1864;  Lavergne,  Tenn.,  Sept.  i,  1864; 
Franklin,  Tenn.,  Sept.  2,  1864;  Campbellsville,  Tenn.,  Sept. 
5,  1864;  Pulaski,  Tenn.,  Sept.  27,  1864;  Shoal  Creek,  Ala., 
Nov.  5,  1864;  Hurt's  Cross  Roads,  Tenn.,  Nov.  29,  1864; 
Franklin,  Tenn.,  Nov.  30,  1864;  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  15 
and  16,  1864;  and  Lynnville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  24,  1864. 

In  addition  to  these  engagements  the  regiment  had 
scores  of  skirmishes,  some  of  which  were  quite  severe,  and 
the  writer  is  unable  to  recall  a  single  instance  in  which  the 
First  Tennessee  ever  refused  or  failed  to  execute  any  order 
given  to  it,  no  matter  how  difficult  and  dangerous  the  execu 
tion  appeared.  Colonel  Brownlow  was  never  heard  to  say 
"go,  boys,"  but  always  "come."  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dyer 
led  the  regiment  with  equal  gallantry  after  Colonel  Brown- 
low  was  wounded. 

Thirty-five  years  have  passed  away  since  the  great 
struggle  ended  and  we  find  the  highest  offices  within  the 
gift  of  the  American  people  have  been  filled  by  soldiers. 
In  all  the  vocations  of  life  they  have  "paddled  their  own 
canoes"  admirably.  Sober,  enterprising,  wide-awake,  clear 
headed,  the  soldiers  of  the  Civil  War  have  made  an  honor 
able  record  in  peace  as  well  as  war,  and  to-day  take  high 
rank  as  good  and  useful  citizens.  The  writer  is  more  than 
gratified  to  be  able  to  say  that  so  far  as  his  means  of  knowl 
edge  extend  the  surviving  members  of  the  First  Tennessee 
are  making  just  as  good  and  useful  citizens  as  they  were 
soldiers.  They  are  industrious  and  are  fighting  the  battle 
of  life  as  manfully  as  they  fought  the  battles  of  their  coun 
try. 

Since  the  close  of  the  war  forts  and  rifle-pits  have  in 
many  places  disappeared  and  given  place  to  beautiful  homes 
and  sweet-scented  flowers.  Yet  in  many  places  they  still 
remain,  and  serve  as  reminders  of  the  great  struggle  away 
back  in  the  sixties.  We  no  longer  hear  the  roar  of  hostile 
guns  from  the  ramparts  or  the  shouts  of  the  charging  troops, 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  263 

but  instead  the  happy  voices  of  playful  children.  Where  the 
smoke  of  battle  once  hung  low,  shutting  out  from  view  the 
contending  forces,  we  now  see  the  smoke  of  the  factory  and 
furnace.  Those  who  were  once  enemies  and  engaged  in  the 
deadly  fray  are  now  engaged  in  these  peacful  and  industrial 
pursuits,  each  striving  to  build  up  the  waste  places  and  to 
reunite  this  great  and  growing  country  of  ours  over  which 
today  one  flag  alone  waves  triumphantly. 


264  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CLOSING  SCENES — UNDER  THE  TATTERED  FLAG — MUSTERED 
OUT — FAREWELL  GREETING — RECEPTION  BY  THE  LOYAL 
PEOPLE. 

The  First  Tennessee  was  now  about  to  leave  the  service, 
and  the  writer  makes  the  modest  claim  that  it  made  an  honor 
able  and  creditable  record,  one  that  their  country  and  chil 
dren  may  well  be  proud  of.  The  list  of  engagements  and  its 
death-roll  tell  part  of  the  story,  and  during  its  service  won 
the  name  of  "The  Fighting  First,"  and  although  not  one  of 
Fox's  three  hundred  fighting  regiments,  yet  it  was  a  brave 
and  gallant  body  of  men,  and  wherever  it  was  engaged  its 
losses  bore  evidence  of  its  valor.  It  carried  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  and  marched  under  its  waving  folds  when  screaming 
shot  and  hissing  shell  were  sweeping  them  away.  The  period 
when  the  regiment  was  organized  was  one  when  disaster 
seemed  at  hand  and  the  fate  of  the  nation  hung  trembling 
in  the  balance.  The  inducements  for  enlisting  were  the  very 
poorest.  No  magnificent  bounties  or  ''big  pay"  were  offered, 
or  mild  service  to  lure  them  into  the  ranks.  All  that  was 
left  "in  that  dark  and  trying  hour"  to  give  the  volunteer 
impulse  was  :  "Your  country  needs  you  ;  go !"  Never  was 
there  such  a  patriotic  uprising  of  the  loyal  people  all  over 
the  land. 

The  men  composing  the  First  Tennessee  have  already 
transmitted  to  posterity  on  the  pages  of  history  the  evidence 
of  its  valor  on  the  field  of  battle.  Hundreds  of  its  members 
will  never  again  respond  to  any  earthly  roll-call  or  spring  to 
arms  at  the  nation's  call.  Their  work  is  done,  and  their 
voices  are  silent.  Captains  Lane,  Bowman  and  Cannon ; 
Lieutenants  Whitehead,  Stapleton,  Cox,  Roberts  and  Hull; 


REGIMENTAL    FLAC1   AS    IT   APPEARS   TO-DAY 


TENNESSEE:  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  265 

the  long  list  of  sergeants,  corporals  and  privates,  sleep  the 
unending  sleep  of  death.  Their  forms  have  decomposed  into 
dust,  the  origin  and  the  end  of  man.  They  died  in  the  moun 
tains  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  by  the  banks  of  the  Cum 
berland,  Tennessee  and  Chattahoochee  Rivers,  on  the  battle 
field,  in  the  hospital  and  in  prison.  No  monuments  mark 
their  resting-places,  but  a  deathless  fame  immortalizes  their 
deeds. 

What  a  strange  and  happy  change  was  now  going  on— 
the  war  over  and  the  soldiers  being  mustered  out!  About 
a  million  of  Union  soldiers  threw  off  their  blue  uniforms, 
laid  clown  the  weapons  of  war,  and  putting  on  citizens  cloth 
ing  took  up  the  arms  of  peace,  soon  to  be  lost  sight  of  in  a 
busy  world.  Never  had  the  world  witnessed  such  a  change. 
In  1 86 1 -2  the  great  Union  army,  which  had  sprung  into 
existence  from  the  loyal  and  patriotic  people  of  the  United 
State?,  were  now  as  suddenly  transformed  back  to  the  peace 
ful  pursuits  of  civil  life. 

The  writer  has  endeavored  in  this  brief  work  to  give 
the  reader  a  correct  account  of  the  gallant  record  made  by 
the  First  Tennessee  from  1862  to  1865.  It  has  been  a  labor 
of  love  as  well  as  a  pleasant  duty  to  record  the  many  heroic 
deeds  performed  by  the  regiment.  The  First  Tennessee  had 
brave,  competent  and  faithful  officers,  while  in  the  ranks  the 
men  who  carried  the  carbines  and  wielded  the  saber  were 
also  brave  and  patriotic  and  discharged  their  duty  faithfully. 

The  regiment  was  composed  of  good  material — mostly 
farmers — and  was  organized  and  led  by  volunteer  officers. 
The  moral  character  was  good  and  no  regiment  in  the  ser 
vice  was  more  religiously  inclined.  This  was  doubtless  due 
in  a  great  measure  to  its  worthy  chaplain,  who  was  a  most 
excellent  Christian  gentleman.  He  preached  to  the  men 
every  Sunday,  when  it  was  possible  to  do  so,  and  his  meet 
ings  were  always  largely  attended  and  of  the  most  devout 
character.  It  had  as  few  camp  fights  as  any  regiment  in  the 
service. 

There  were  several  officers   and  enlisted  men   of  the 


266  HISTORY  OF  I'IRST  REGIMENT 

First  Tennessee  commissioned  in  other  regiments,  while 
others  were  detailed  to  fill  various  positions  of  trust  and  re 
sponsibility,  and  the  writer  is  unable  to  recall  a  single  in 
stance  where  anyone  betrayed  the  confidence  or  degraded 
the  office  he  was  called  upon  to  fill. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  work  the  writer  has  as  times 
almost  given  up  the  enterprise  for  want  of  proper  informa 
tion  and  facts.  Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  early  or 
ganization  of  the  Tennessee  regiments  will  remember  that 
they  were  made  up  in  the  State  of  Kentucky,  and  the  irregu 
lar  way  in  which  the  men  composing  these  regiments  made 
their  escape  in  order  to  enlist  will  realize  at  once  the  great 
difficulty  in  collecting  facts  for  such  a  work.  The  State  was 
also  a  battleground  most  of  the  time.  But  after  a  year  of 
hard  and  patient  labor  this  brief  history  has  been  prepared, 
in  which  the  many  thrilling  and  heroic  deeds  are  recorded, 
and  the  writer  feels  warranted  in  saying  that  a  grateful  peo 
ple  fully  appreciate  your  untiring  sacrifice  and  devotion  to 
the  "old  flag"  and  that  your  blood  was  not  spilled  in  vain. 

The  recruits  remained  in  the  service  until  the  I4th  of 
June,  when  they  were  mustered  out.  Major  Russell  Thorn- 
burgh,  being  the  senior  officer  left,  commanded  the  recruits 
until  they  were  discharged.  The  men  were  paid,  the  final 
discharge  given,  and  after  marching  to  their  quarters  we  ex 
changed  farewell  greetings  with  those  of  our  comrades  who 
were  to  remain  in  the  service  for  a  short  time.  It  was  a  sad 
•parting,  one  that  all  will  remernber.  Many  letters  were  sent 
home  by  the  boys  who  remained  behind. 

The  regiment  as  a  unit  assembled  for  the  last  time  under 
the  folds  of  its  old  flag,  and  as  the  grim  warriors  gazed  at 
its  tattered  folds  under  which  they  had  marched  and  fought 
for  three  long  years,  many  tears  could  be  seen  trickling 
down  the  bronzed  faces  of  the  men.  Our  thoughts  went  out 
in  loving  memory  for  those  of  our  comrades  who  had  fallen 
in  battle,  died  in  the  hospital  or  in  prison — the  last  the 
saddest  of  all. 

It  is  true  our  efforts  to  help  crush  the  rebellion  were 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  267 

successful,  but  the  highways  along  which  we  marched 
and  fought  have  also  been  made  moist  and  crimson  by  the 
blood  of  our  own  dead.  It  is  true  the  rebellion'  could  have 
been  put  down  without  the  aid  of  the  First  Tennessee,  yet 
the  small  streams  help  to  make  up  the  ocean. 

On  the  nth  day  of  April  the  Knox  County  boys  and  a 
large  number  of  the  men  from  the  upper  East  Tennessee 
counties  left  camp  and  marched  to  the  depot  and  embarked 
on  the  cars  for  home,  leaving  behind  a  record  that  has 
already  passed  into  history.  At  Cleveland,  Tennessee,  we 
heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  at  Wash 
ington.  On  reaching  our  respective  homes  we  were  warmly 
and  cordially  received  by  the  loyal  people,  who  greeted  us 
with  open  arms.  Grim  war  nor  cruel  treatment  had  damp 
ened  their  love  for  the  Union  or  sympathy  for  the  boys  in 
blue. 

All  over  East  Tennessee  the  returning  soldiers  were 
greeted  with  outstretched  arms,  and  banquets  were  given  in 
their  honor.  What  a  relief  from  an  almost  unbroken  strain, 
after  three  years  of  faithful  service  at  the  front!  We  said 
goodbye,  drill  and  dress-parade;  goodbye,  saber,  gun  and 
tent;  adieu,  faithful  horse  and  much-beloved  canteen;  fare 
well,  old  hard-tack  and  army  bean  : 

An  affectionate  adieu 
To  each  of  you. 

Each  returning  soldier  recalled  the  fact  that  others  had 
gone  out  with  him,  but  would  never  return.  They  also  re 
called  the  days  of  battle  and  of  death  in  hospital  and  in 
prison.  But  with  these  sad  memories  came  peace — no  more 
battles,  no  more  prisons,  no  more  hospitals.  The  boys  were 
welcomed  home,  and  the  people  were  ready  and  willing  to 
help  the  boys  begin  life  again,  and  nothing  was  too  good 
for  a  returning  soldier. 

The  recruits  remained  en  duty  in  Nashville  until  the 
I4th  of  June,  1865,  when  they  were  all  mustered  out  and 
returned  home. 


268  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Now,  comrades  of  the  First  Tennessee,  I  have  at 
tempted  to  follow  your  movements  for  three  years  and  to 
correctly  record  your  deeds  and  the  part  you  took  in  the 
great  struggle,  but  will  let  you  judge  of  their  correctness.  I 
have  followed  as  best  I  could  your  movements  in  the  States 
of  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Georgia 
and  Mississippi,  the  States  in  which  you  performed  distin 
guished  service.  And  now,  having  followed  all  of  your 
movements  from  enlistment  to  muster-out  at  Nashville,  the 
capital  of  your  own  State,  and  being  unable  to  follow  you 
any  further  or  to  accompany  each  one  of  you  home,  I  will 
leave  you  and  bid  each  one  a  long  and  affectionate  farewell. 

Comrades,  it  has  been  one  of  the  most  pleasant  duties  of 
my  life  to  write  a  history  of  your  service.  But  remember, 
comrades,  this  has  been  no  small  undertaking,  and  if  any 
errors  have  been  made  they  are  of  the  head  and  not  the 
heart. 

Since  the  close  of  the  war  the  surviving  members  of  the 
regiment  have  organized  an  association  known  as  "The  First 
Tennessee  Cavalry  Association,"  which  meets  annually. 
These  annual  gatherings  are  well  attended  and  are  seasons  of 
great  enjoyment.  Through  the  kindness  of  Mrs.  W.  G. 
Brownlow,  the  mother  of  our  colonel,  the  old  flag  under 
which  the  regiment  inarched  and  fought  was  presented  by 
her  to  the  association  and  is  an  interesting  memento  at  our 
meetings. 

The  whitening  hair,  the  failing  vision  and  the  halting 
step  all  prefigure  the  inevitable  hour  when  all  must  pass 
over  and  join  the  silent  majority  beyond. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  269 


ROSTER  AND  RECORD 

...OF  THE... 

First  Tennessee  Cavalry. 


Organized  at  Camp  Garber,  Ky.,  March  and  April, 
1862.  Mustered  out  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  April  and  June, 
1865.  The  roster  contains  the  name,  military  record  and 
postoffice  address  of  all  the  men  whose  names  were  borne 
upon  the  rolls  of  the  regiment  during  its  service,  and  is  as 
complete  and  accurate  as  can  be  made  from  the  facts  and 
dates  at  hand. 

1862—1865. 
FIELD  AND  STAFF. 

COLONELS. 

ROBERT  JOHNSON.  Enrolled  Feb.  28,  1862.  Resigned 
on  account  of  ill  health  May  31,  1863,  at  Triune,  Tenn. 
After  resigning  he  went  to  Nashville,  where  for  a  short  time 
he  assisted  his  father,  who  was  then  Governor  of  Tennessee. 
He  was  a  kind  officer  and  good  to  his  men.  Died  at  Greene- 
ville,  Tenn.,  April  22,  1869. 

BREVET  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  JAMES  P.  BROWNLOW. 
Enrolled  April  i,  1862.  Elected  Captain  of  Company  C  at 
its  organization.  Elected  Lieutenant-Colonel  Aug.  I,  1862. 
Promoted  to  Colonel  on  the  resignation  of  Colonel  Johnson. 
Captured  at  Fairgarden,  Tenn.,  Jan.  27,  1864;  made  his 
escape  soon  after  and  rejoined  the  regiment.  Led  the  First 
Brigade  from  the  disastrous  field  near  Newnan,  Ga.,  July 


270  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

30,  1864,  after  the  separation  of  General  Croxton  from  his 
command.  Severely  wounded  at  Franklin,  Tenn.,  Sept  2, 
1864.  Was  appointed  Brigadier-General  by  brevet  by  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  March  13,  1865.  This  promotion  was  for  gal 
lantry  and  meritorious  service  during  the  war.  Was  present 
and  mustered  out  with  the  regiment,  his  time  having  ex 
pired.  Appointed  Captain  in  the  Eighth  United  States  Cav 
alry,  July,  1866.  Resigned  in  March,  1868.  Died  at  Knox- 
ville,  Tenn.,  April  27,  1878. 

UEUTEN  ANT-COLONEL. 

C.  M.  DYER.  Enrolled  July  12,  1862.  Elected  Lieuten 
ant  Company  H,  July  12,  1862.  Promoted  to  Major,  Aug. 
4,  1863 ;  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Sept.  19,  1864.  Commanded 
the  regiment  after  Colonel  Brownlow  was  wounded  at 
Franklin,  until  it  returned  to  Nashville  to  be  mustered  out. 
He  was  killed  by  a  colored  soldier  in  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Feb. 
13,  1866.  Colonel  Dyer  was  attending  a  sale  of  government 
property  and  on  entering  the  building  was  shot  dead  by  the 
soldier  who  was  on  guard.  His  only  excuse  for  the  das 
tardly  act  was  that  a  white  officer  resembling  Colonel  Dyer, 
he  claimed,  had  offended  him.  The  culprit  was  captured 
by  Colonel  Dyer's  friends  shortly  afterward  and  hung. 

MAJORS. 

JAMES  O.  BERRY.  Enrolled  April  15,  1862.  Appointed 
Adjutant  of  the  regiment  April,  1862.  Promoted  to  Major 
May  15,  1862.  Resigned  Jan.  6,  1863.  Address,  Denton, 
Texas. 

M.  T.  BURKHEART.  Enrolled  April  I,  1862.  Elected 
First  Lieutenant  Company  C  at  its  organization.  Promoted 
to  Captain  August,  I,  1862;  to  Major,  Nov.  i,  1862.  Re 
signed  Aug.  4,  1863.  Died  April  n,  1902. 

W.  R.  TRACY.  Enrolled  Oct.  12,  1862.  Elected  Major 
Nov.,  1862.  Resigned  June  22,  1863. 

ABRAHAM  HAMMOND.  Enrolled  Aug.  6,  1862.  Elected 
Captain  Company  I  at  its  organization.  Promoted  to  Major 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  271 

May  21,  1863.  Resigned  June  22,  1863.  Address,  Indian- 
ola,  Neb. 

RUSSELL  THORNBURGH.  Enrolled  Aug.,  1862.  Elected 
Lieutenant  Company  K.  Promoted  to  Major  Aug.  5,  1863. 
Wounded  in  right  arm  at  Dandridge,  Tenn.,  Dec.  24,  1863. 
Was  the  ranking  officer  left  on  the  muster-out  of  the  regi 
ment,  and  commanded  the  recruits  until  the  final  muster-out 
in  June,  1865.  Died  in  1899. 

H.  C.  FLAGG.  Enrolled  April  i,  1862.  Elected  Captain 
Company  E  at  its  organization.  Promoted  to  Major  Aug.  6, 
1863.  Address,  Whitesburg,  Tenn. 

BURTON  SMITH.  Enrolled  Aug.  i,  1862.  Elected  Cap 
tain  Company  K  at  its  organization.  Promoted  to  Major 
Sept.  22,  1864.  Died  at  Red  Clay,  Ga.,  June  29,  1888. 
Widow's  address,  Sherman  Heights,  Tenn. 

SURGEONS  AND  ASSISTANT  SURGEONS. 

P.  W.  LOGAN.  Appointed  Surgeon  by  Colonel  Johnson 
April,  1862.  Resigned  Dec.  29,  1862.  Address,  Milledge- 
ville,  Ky. 

FIRST  ASSISTANT  A.  J.  TAYLOR.  Enrolled  1862.  Re 
signed,  date  unknown.  Died  in  1902. 

SECOND  ASSISTANT  JNO.  T.  JONES.  Enrolled  Nov.  i, 
1862.  Appointed  First  Assistant  Surgeon  on  resignation  of 
Taylor ;  Surgeon,  on  resignation  of  Dr.  Logan.  Died  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  1885. 

SECOND  ASSISTANT  JAS.  H.  JONES.     Enrolled  Nov  i, 

1862.  Appointed  Second  Assistant  Surgeon  on  resignation 
of  John  S.  Jones.    Resigned  June  22,  1863.    Address,  New 
Albany,  Ind. 

W.  F.  GREEN.  Enrolled  Aug.  15,  1863.  Elected  Sur 
geon  in  Sept.,  1863.  Business  address,  No.  3  Noel  Block, 
Nashville,  Tenn. 

FIRST  ASSISTANT  JOHN  L.  REED.    Enrolled  March  30, 

1863.  Appointed  First  Assistant  Surgeon  in  1863.     Died 
at  Content,  Texas,  date  unknown. 


272  HISTORY  OF  1-IRST  REGIMENT 

SECOND  ASSISTANT  W.  T.  RANKIN.  Enrolled  Nov.  i, 
1862.  Appointed  Second  Assistant  Surgeon  Nov.,  1863. 
Resigned  on  account  of  ill  health  Feb.  18,  1865.  Died  at  his 
home  in  Jefferson  County,  Tenn.,  date  unknown. 

CHAPLAIN. 

JOHN  P.  Hoi/fsiNGER.  Enrolled  Aug.,  1862.  Elected 
by  the  officers  of  the  regiment  and  mustered  as  Chaplain, 
with  rank  of  Captain.  He  was  the  first  Chaplain  of  the  regi 
ment  and  held  that  position  until  final  muster-out.  He  was 
a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  minister,  and  was  from  Greene- 
ville,  Tenn.  Was  a  brave  man  and  a  true  Christian  of  the 
highest  order — the  idol  of  his  men.  Died  at  his  home  near 
Greeneville,  Tenn.,  Oct.  26,  1875.  The  survivors  of  the 
regiment  have  erected  a  beautiful  monument  to  his  memory. 

ADJUTANTS. 

JAMES  O.  BERRY.  Enrolled  April  15,  1862.  See  Field 
and  Staff. 

JOHN  HAI,L.  Enrolled  April,  1862.  Appointed  Adju 
tant  May,  1862.  Resigned  on  account  of  ill  health,  date  un 
known.  Afterwards  joined  the  navy  and  was  lost  at  sea; 
no  record  of  date  or  place. 

JAMES  BUNCH.  Enrolled  1862.  Appointed  Adjutant. 
Resigned  a  short  time  after  his  appointment;  no  record  of 
date. 

CHAS.  H.  BENTLEY.  Enrolled  Nov.  i,  1862.  Appointed 
Adjutant  Nov.  4,  1862.  Resigned  July  18,  1863.  Died  since 
close  of  war ;  date  unknown. 

JOHN  M.  HARRIS.  Enlisted  Nov.  i,  1862,  as  private  in 
Company  C.  Appointed  Adjutant  on  the  resignation  of 
Chas.  H.  Bentley.  Was  final  adjutant  of  the  regiment.  Was 
severely  wounded  at  Rigg's  Cross  Roads,  Tenn.,  April  16, 
1863.  In  this  engagement  he  received  three  wounds.  The 
one  in  the  right  lung  was  considered  mortal,  but  with  careful 
nursing  and  a  strong  constitution  he  recovered.  Address, 
Fountain  City,  Tenn. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  273 

QUARTERMASTERS. 

ROBERT  Ho  WELL.  Enrolled  April  i,  1862.  Appointed 
Quartermaster  by  Colonel  Johnson  at  Flat  Lick,  Ky.,  in 
April,  1862.  Accidentally  killed  at  Portland,  O.,  by  being 
thrown  from  a  buggy  as  the  regiment  was  on  its  way  to 
Camp  Dennison  to  be  mounted;  date  unknown. 

JOHN  H.  JAMES.  Enlisted  Nov.  6,  1862,  as  private  in 
Company  F.  Promoted  to  First  Lieutenant  and  regimental 
Quartermaster,  Nov.  7,  1862.  Discharged  July  25,  1864,  to 
accept  promotion  in  the  Quartermaster's  Department  at 
Nashville,  Tenn. 

E.  D.  FILLMORE.  Enrolled  July  26,  1864.  Appointed 
Quartermaster  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  discharge  of 
Lieutenant  James.  Address,  Au  Sable  Forks,  N.  Y. 

COMMISSARY. 

I.  B.  SELF.  Enlisted  July  14,  1862,  as  private  in  Com 
pany  I.  Promoted  to  Lieutenant  and  Commissary  of  Sub 
sistence  Jan.  6,  1863.  Severely  wounded  at  Franklin,  Tenn., 
Sept.  2,  1864.  Address,  Bakersfield,  Cal. 

SERGEANT-MAJORS. 

M.  C.  WILLIAMS.  Appointed  Sergeant-Major  in  1862. 
Promoted  to  Second  Lieutenant  Company  G  in  Nov.,  1864. 
See  roster  of  Company  G. 

FRANK  HYBARGER.  Enlisted  Aug.  I,  1862,  as  private  in 
Company  I.  Appointed  Sergeant-Major  to  fill  place  made 
vacant  by  the  promotion  of  M.  C.  Williams.  Died  at  his 
home  in  1897. 

QUARTERMASTER-SERGEANTS. 

DANIEL  S.  Fox.  Enlisted  March  i,  1862,  as  private  in 
Company  F.  Appointed  Quartermaster- Sergeant  March, 
1863.  Promoted  to  Second  Lieutenant  Company  B,  1863; 
to  First  Lieutenant  Nov.  I,  1864.  See  roster  Company  B. 

GEO.  ARMITAGE.  Enlisted  Dec.  8,  1862,  as  private  in 
Company  I.  Appointed  Quartermaster- Sergeant  to  fill  place 


274  HISTORY  OF  FIRST  REGIMENT 

made  vacant  by  the  promotion  of  D.   S.   Fox.     Address, 
Albany,  Tenn. 

HOSPITAL  STEWARDS. 

OLIVER  O'NEAL.  Enlisted  April  15,  1862,  as  private  in 
Company  D.  Appointed  Hospital  Steward  Nov.  i,  1862. 
Address,  Bybee,  Tenn. 

S.  H.  HENDRIX.  Enlisted  Nov.  i,  1862,  as  private  in 
Company  L.  Appointed  Hospital  Steward  Aug.  4,  18^3. 
Captured  on  the  McCook  raid,  July  31,  1864.  Confined  in 
nearly  all  of  the  Southern  prisons ;  exchanged  the  following 
spring.  Address,  Watauga,  Tenn. 

ASSISTANT  COMMISSARY  SERGEANT. 

W.  F.  SELF.  Enlisted  Dec.  i,  1862,  as  private  in  Ccni- 
pany  I.  Appointed  Assistant  Commissary  Sergeant;  no 
record  of  date.  Address,  Greeneville,  Tenn. 

CHIEF  BUGLER. 

JULIAS  E.  THOMAS.  Enlisted  March  i,  1862,  as  private 
in  Company  F.  Appointed  Chief  Bugler  Nov.  i,  1862. 
Address,  Stratford,  Conn. 

•   SADDLE  SERGEANTS. 

W.  P.  LIFORD.  Enlisted  July  29,  1862,  as  private  in 
Company  G.  Appointed  Saddle  Sergeant  in  1863.  Address, 
Stinesville,  Ind. 

ASSISTANT  JNO.  S.  STEVENS.    Address,  Cleopatra,  Ky. 

WAGON  MASTER. 

W.  J.  BISE.  Enlisted  April  i,  1862,  as  private  in  Com 
pany  C.  Appointed  Wagonmaster  Nov.  i,  1862.  Died  at 
Strawberry  Plains,  Tenn.,  Oct.  7,  1886. 

POSTMASTER. 

D.  A.  BROOKS.  Enlisted  April  i,  1863,  as  private  in 
Company  C.  Appointed  regimental  Postmaster  in  1863. 
Address,  Smithwood,  Tenn. 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY. 


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ROLL  OF  HONOR. 

NAMES  OF  ENLISTED  MEN  WHO  DIED  IN  PRISON. 

The  very  imperfect  manner  in  which  the  Southern 
prison  records  were  kept  makes  it  almost  impossible  to  ob 
tain  a  correct  list  of  the  men  belonging  to  the  First  Tennes 
see  who  were  captured  and  died  while  in  captivity  during  its 
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NO.  OF 
COMPANY   A.  GRAVK. 

Samuel  Dudley   Andersonville April       8,  1864  435 

John  Tyfle Andersonville June      28,  1864         4,122 

COMPANY  E. 

Isaac  Weir  Andersonville July       14,  1864         3,297 

John  Vansel  Belle  Isle Nov.      12,  1863         

C.  G.  Gipson Andersonville July       24,1864         3,887 

COMPANY  E. 

E.  Smidney Andersonville Aug.      30,  1864         7>3I4 

J.D.Winchester Andersonville April     21,1864        12,902 

COMPANY   F. 


Franklin  Parker   

,   Danville  Va 

Dec 

4    186^? 

COMPANY   H. 

*T>       AWWO 

• 

David  Sutton  , 

Andersonville.  . 

.  .  .  Aug. 

23,    1864 

6,643 

COMPANY   I. 

Joshua  Coggins 

.  .  Feb 

8,  1865 

591 

COMPANY    K. 

G.  W.  Gill.. 

Andersonville.  . 

.  .  Scot. 

16,  1864 

8,946 

COMPANY  L. 

C.  G.  Montgomery Andersonville Sept.  21,  1864  9,559 

Jacob  Colier Andersonville Sept.  23,  1864         

COMPANY   M. 

J.  A.  Dodd Andersonville Nov.  22,  1864  12,119 

John  Firestone Andersonville Aug.  n,  1864  5>32° 


TENNESSEE  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY.  333 


RECAPITULATION. 

Commissioned  officers   82 

Enlisted   men    i,37O 

CASUALTIES  IN  THE  SERVICE. 

Killed  and  died  of  wounds  received  in  battle: 

Commissioned  officers   5 

Enlisted  men    60 

Died  of  disease : 

Commissioned  officers   3 

Enlisted   men    235 

Died  in  captivity: 

Enlisted  men    15 

Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps : 

Commissioned  officers   I 

Enlisted   men    12 

Transferred  to  other  organizations  by  promotion 16 

Deserted : 

Enlisted  men    56 

Discharged  for  disability  and  wounds : 

Commissioned  officers   I 

Enlisted  men    41 

Discharged  by  special  order  of  General  Thomas: 

Enlisted   men    I 

Resigned : 

Commissioned  officers   26 

Killed  accidentally : 

Commissioned  officers   I 

Enlisted  men    I 

Re-entered  the  service  after  resigning: 

Commissioned  officers   6 

Committed  suicide . 

Enlisted  men    I 

Lost  on  the  Sultana  : 

Enlisted  men    I 


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